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Business Debt/Delinquent Commericial Personal Property taxes

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Expert: - 9/9/2010


Question
I had a business that failed and unforunately, due to financial and physical hardships, never got around to getting the taxes paid. Now a law firm is seeking restitution and may soon file a lawsuit to foreclose. I never had any real property only personal property (inventory, display cases and such). I do not owe any or monies on any the property used in the business.

I no longer have any of fixtures as I had to leave them at the location I was renting from (I had no means to haul them off nor a place to store them). I had some inventory and tools but most was sold long ago. And so, I have no business property of any significant value to hold a tax sale.

I would like to seek a "work out" with the collections firm. The amount of taxes and fines comes to a little over $1600. Of course the attorney will add additional fees as well. I do want to pay the debt but I won't be able to come up with the whole amount. I'm hoping you might be able to provide insight regarding how much I will have to pay off the debt.

I live in Texas and my residence is homesteaded. Between my wife and I our net income amounts to a little under $1800 per month. My wife was not named on the tax lien issued by the apparaisal district.

I hope you may be able to give a an idea of what to expect and how to pay the debt without causing further hardship on my household.

Thank you for your time reading this and help you may provide will be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Dear Arden:
Thanks for your question. Although tax is not my area of expertise, if you are dealing with state tax owed, or any other debt of the business, you would be best either offering a settlement (Offer in Compromise) or work out a repayment schedule over a 12 month period. You should be prepared to demonstrate via financial statement or other documentation where you are getting income and your current monthly expenses. Do not offer this initially but be prepared to substantiate your hardship. You can come up with nearly any schedule as repayment, and if you have some money now offer it as a goodwill down payment then begin making regular payments on the remaining balance each month once a reasonable set of terms is mutually agreed upon. Get everything in writing and do not release monies until you have that understanding confirmed. If you can not negotiate something on your own, you should contact a CPA or tax attorney who can help. Good luck.

Respectfully,
Christine Janklow

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Christine Janklow

Expertise

As President of SettleSource,Inc. a business debt settlement firm, I invite you to inquire about all aspects of business debt solutions to best determine which may be most appropriate. If you have questions such as: What is debt settlement and how process provide debt relief to my business? What options are available to deal with my business debts? Is it possible for a business owner to negotiate their own settlements? Why is debt settlement preferable to filing a bankruptcy or debt consolidation? Why are creditors willing to provide settlements to a business? How will settling debts affect credit scores? or How to rebuild a business after debt is eliminated. Please ask it now! For more information regarding how debt settlement can help your business, please visit www.SettleSource.com and place your inquiry. Mention All Experts to have a confidential no cost consultation with Christine. If this is your business situation time may play a very important factor in getting matters resolved proactively before they have negative affects on the business.

Experience

My expertise is specific to providing business solutions that will have profound positive impacts on the financial health of businesses. I have 25 years experience as an entrepreneur and have developed national sales programs; strategic alliances; product development; marketing programs; business and turnaround plans and debt settlement programs all providing methods to improve the financial outlook for large and small businesses. In the area of commercial debt settlement I have over 10 years experience working with large and medium corporations and closely held businesses to enable successful debt reduction and turnaround. I am a professional debt arbitrator and have negotiated with major banking institutions as well as vendors, suppliers and other trade creditors.

Organizations
Provisors;Turnaround Management Association; Los Angeles area

Publications
Accounting Today; Web CPA; National Restauarant Association;Los Angeles Daily News; Today Magazine Monthly series of business articles entitled "Brand News."

Education/Credentials
Bachelor of Business Administration; Associate of Arts Merchandising

Past/Present Clients
American Airlines, American Express, Safeway Inc., New York Life, consumer products manufacturers; retailers, food service industry and other small businesses and service providers.

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