Amos I. Maggy v. United States of America

Appellant Maggy filed suit against the United States for refund of $24.32 which he had paid in partial satisfaction of a $32,-060.49 tax penalty assessed against him pursuant to 26 U.S.C. §§ 6671-72 . He additionally prayed for indemnification from third party defendants for any further liability on the balance of the assessments. After a trial to the court, judgment in the amount of $32,036.17 was entered in favor of the United States on its counterclaim against Maggy for the unpaid balance of the assessment. Maggy’s indemnification claim was also denied.

Under 26 U.S.C. §§ 3101-02 , employers are required to regularly withhold Social Security and FICA taxes from their employees’ wages. These taxes are collected from the employers quarterly. The quarter involved in this suit extended from May through July, 1967. The money collected by employers for these taxes is required to be held in trust by them until the end of the quarter pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 7501 (a). Since the government has no recourse against the individual employees if these taxes are not paid at the end of each quarter, 26 U.S.C. § 6672 imposes a 100 percent penalty tax for the willful failure “to collect,…