Legal Question - Summary Offense in PA

[Babbles]

So I just got a summons for a non-traffic summary case in Pennsylvania for failure to pay local tax. The discrepancy is that I did pay my local income tax for last year however it looks like I underpaid by ~$14.00. During that tax year we moved townships who had different tax rates, so I will admit that I may have incorrectly split up how to pay the taxes. Also by way of background in July of 2009 I moved from PA to Ohio.

I paid something like $2,000 in local taxes so there was no malicious intent in trying to defraud the township by skimming a whopping $14. Anyhow I never received a letter from the township, not a phone call, nor an email about a discrepancy. It apparently went straight from an honest clerical error on my part to a summons to the district court for failure to pay taxes and as well as slapping me with $160 in fees.

My concern is that if I just suck it up and pay the fine - the time and gas to drive back out to central PA may just make paying it worthwhile - but I am crazy concerned about any sort of record as paying the fees requires me to plead guilty.

My question to legally minded people is (1) is a summary offense something that will go on my record if I plea guilty and (2) is there not an onus of responsibility on the township tax office to make reasonable attempts to communicate a discrepancy in my tax payment before taking me to court?

I am going to call the township tax office and the court tomorrow, but I would like to have some input or knowledge of sorts regarding this kind of stuff.

 

[SirStev0]

Central PA? State College, I am guessing?

 

[Babbles]

Yeah I lived in State College for the past four something years - not associated with the university.

 

[SirStev0]

Yeah I lived in State College for the past four something years - not associated with the university.

Having lived in State College for 5 years, I would say don't just push this off. That town loved buttfucking and penny pinching anyone and everyone.

 

[Triumph]

I wouldn't just brush it off either. I'm sure "failure to pay taxes" is going on some kind of permanent record somewhere, causing you grief and heartache in the future. Who knows, maybe it will come up on a routine credit check or a police background check for a job?

 

[Babbles]

Having lived in State College for 5 years, I would say don't just push this off. That town loved buttfucking and penny pinching anyone and everyone.

Yeah, it is Ferguson township that is dicking me over and they do love to nickel and dime everybody. It pisses me the hell off that they didn't bother communicate with me that there was a error with my tax payment; they went from zero to ass rape.

 

[2Xtreme21]

I think you should consult a lawyer, personally. Or a tax consultant. Can you plead your case in court?

 

[Babbles]

I wouldn't just brush it off either. I'm sure "failure to pay taxes" is going on some kind of permanent record somewhere, causing you grief and heartache in the future. Who knows, maybe it will come up on a routine credit check or a police background check for a job?

That is exactly what bothers me so much. I am now back in school working on my MBA - oh the coincidence that I am a semester into my MBA and I am essentially getting accuse of tax fraud - and I am in the process of applying for internships and furthermore in another year I intend on looking for full-time employment.

That is where my concern is about even pleading guilty and just paying the fine plus amount owed. I know minor routine sort of traffic violations don't go on a criminal record, but a "summary offense" for not paying tax may be something that will screw me over.

All over a lousy $14 after I paid damn well near two grand to them.

 

[Babbles]

I think you should consult a lawyer, personally. Or a tax consultant. Can you plead your case in court?

I can plead not guilty, but the cost of driving and my time makes it a pain in the ass not to mention I have never ever gone to court for anything beforehand so I am not really experienced in pleading my case.

I did think about consulting with an attorney, but when evaluating the fines versus potetial cost of the attorney I am not sure it is worth it. Unless, and this is very, very important for me, that there would be a concern that this would go on my record.

I just wish the piece of shit township tax office took a few tries to call me up and say, "Hey dude, you owe us another fourteen bucks."

 

[TheVrolok]

Yeah, it is Ferguson township that is dicking me over and they do love to nickel and dime everybody. It pisses me the hell off that they didn't bother communicate with me that there was a error with my tax payment; they went from zero to ass rape.

Ferguson is just as bad. They love to abuse residents up there.

 

[skyking]

Your honor, I have paid over $2000 in taxes over the past x years without fail.
the township did not attempt to contact me by phone or send a regular bill, so here we stand in court today over $14. $14.
I contend that the township did not perform due diligence in an attempt to bill be in a normal manner, blah blah blah..............Based on my past payment history I can assure you and the court there was no intent blah blah....

Most judges will get pissed off at that point. If you are absolutely certain that normal attempts were not made the judge will toss this.

 

[Born2bwire]

I can plead not guilty, but the cost of driving and my time makes it a pain in the ass not to mention I have never ever gone to court for anything beforehand so I am not really experienced in pleading my case.

I did think about consulting with an attorney, but when evaluating the fines versus potetial cost of the attorney I am not sure it is worth it. Unless, and this is very, very important for me, that there would be a concern that this would go on my record.

I just wish the piece of shit township tax office took a few tries to call me up and say, "Hey dude, you owe us another fourteen bucks."

Your school doesn't give free legal services?

 

[Babbles]

Your honor, I have paid over $2000 in taxes over the past x years without fail.
the township did not attempt to contact me by phone or send a regular bill, so here we stand in court today over $14. $14.
I contend that the township did not perform due diligence in an attempt to bill be in a normal manner, blah blah blah..............Based on my past payment history I can assure you and the court there was no intent blah blah....

Most judges will get pissed off at that point. If you are absolutely certain that normal attempts were not made the judge will toss this.

That sounds like a reasonable way of handling it.

I am as absolutely certain as I can be that they did not attempt to collect the amount owed. As noted above, I did move so it is entirely reasonable that an attempt could have been made to send a bill, but it was lost in the mail. In fact this summons was mailed to my old address and was forwarded to my current one. Additionally my phone number was listed on the tax return and I do not recall any calls made to collect.

I find it interesting that the summons was not sent by certified mail; one would think something of this importance would be sent via certified mail.

I would wager that there were people who really skipped out on paying their taxes and resources went into collecting those funds, and my little $14 shortfall may have gone unnoticed until it was just processed along in the system with all of the other missing payments.

 

[Babbles]

Your school doesn't give free legal services?

I imagine they probably do; there is a law school with the university. Again, though, I now live in Ohio and this happened in Pennsylvania and the local tax laws and how summary offenses are handled in the two states may differ.

I am going to investigate our student resources to see if there is some sort of legal advice that I can take.