Helping an Illegal Alien Get What’s Due to Him
Q: One of my employees, a former undocumented alien, has been working for me since 1979. Until he received amnesty and a new Social Security number in 1988, he had been paying Social Security taxes for several years on a phony card. Social Security claims to have no records of those pre-amnesty payments. But I have records for nine of those last 16 years. What should I do to help my employee? He is afraid that if he pursues the matter with Social Security, they will turn him in to the Internal Revenue Service for back income taxes. --N.R.
A: A spokesman for the Social Security Administration swears that the agency will consider your worker’s case along with the documents you have without involving the IRS.
The spokesman suggests that you give your employee copies of the pertinent payment records and have him take them to the local Social Security office, where they will be scrutinized and compared to the agency’s own records.
If your documents prove that the employee made the necessary Social Security contributions, he will be given the payment credits that he earned. And the information will not be shared with the IRS.
“We have no reason to pass on the information to the IRS,” the spokesman said. “If the worker has paid his Social Security taxes, that is all we care about.”
Settling the Score on Unpaid Back Taxes
Q: In the early 1980s a relative of mine fell on hard times. The IRS took his house for payment of back taxes, but the California Franchise Tax Board, which was then owed a total of $40,000, did nothing. Now he owes the state $100,000 because of accumulated interest. He would like to settle with the state at the original $40,000 level and has tried to contact them with such a proposal. However, he can’t seem to get their attention. Is there something he should be doing to get the process going--or is it a futile effort? --H.C.
A: The Franchise Tax Board has an entire process tailor-made for your relative. Called “offer and compromise,” this program allows hopelessly delinquent taxpayers to negotiate a repayment plan with the state that gets the taxpayer out of the hole while still satisfying a portion of his tax obligation.
To participate in the program, which is modeled after the Internal Revenue Service’s system of the identical name, taxpayers should obtain the “offer and compromise” package of materials from their nearest Franchise Tax Board.
The materials may also be obtained by writing to the Franchise Tax Board, Sacramento, Calif. 95815 or by calling toll-free (800) 852-5711. The materials should be completed and returned to the Franchise Tax Board. A board representative will then contact the taxpayer and begin the negotiations.
Our tax advisers suggest that taxpayers tackle this process alone, without paid representation from an attorney or accountant since the state might be inclined to disbelieve a taxpayer’s cries for relief if he is paying high-priced help to carry his message.
Just Another Item You Have to Remember
Q: I just received a notice of delinquent registration for my car from the Department of Motor Vehicles. In addition to my normal fees there is a $63 penalty for late payment. The only problem is that I never received my first bill. Do I have to pay the penalty if I never got my payment notice in the first place? --A.M.R.
A: The Department of Motor Vehicles says it cannot be responsible for your not receiving the original bill, which it terms a “courtesy notice.” You must pay the penalty regardless of the circumstances surrounding your overdue payment.
There appears to be absolutely no avenue of appeal since the DMV’s position is that it is your responsibility to know when your registration is due and to pay it regardless of whether you receive a statement from the department or not.
According to a departmental spokesman, the DMV sends out more than 1.4 million registration statements every month and encounters delivery problems in only a handful of cases. “We feel sorry for this person,” said spokesman Gary Quinliven, “but there is nothing we can do.”
The DMV says owners should be on the lookout for their annual registration renewal statements and should notify their local DMV office if they have not received their bill by 30 days before its due date. Now, you might ask how you are supposed to know when your bill is due? Well, the registration sticker on your license plate clearly states the month that your registration expires.
Along with everything else you have on your mind, you should memorize that month and be looking for a piece of mail from the DMV in the 45 to 60 days prior to the renewal period.
