The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 32 : Taxation and Finance

Chapter 151 : Income Taxes

Subchapter 004 : Withholding of Taxes at Source

• § 5844. Liability; penalty; trust for the State

  (a) Withholding requirement. Any person who fails to withhold the required tax or to pay it to the Commissioner as required under this subchapter shall be personally and individually liable for the amount of such tax, and if the person is a corporation or other entity, the personal liability shall extend and be applicable to any officer or agent of the corporation or entity who, as an officer or agent of the same, is under a duty to withhold the tax and transmit it to the Commissioner as required in this chapter.

  (b) Held in trust for State. Any sum or sums withheld in accordance with this subchapter shall be deemed to be held by the person in trust for the State of Vermont. Such sums shall be recorded by such person in a ledger account so as clearly to indicate the amount of tax withheld and that the same are the property of the State of Vermont.

  (c) Withholding penalties.

  (1) Failure to file; failure to withhold; failure to remit. Any employer, including any corporate officer or agent, who knowingly fails to file a return, fails to withhold a tax, or fails to remit a tax required under this subchapter shall be imprisoned not more than one year or fined not more than $1,000.00, or both.

  (2) Failure to file; failure to withhold; failure to remit; over $500.00. Any employer, including any corporate officer or agent, who with intent to evade a tax liability fails to file a return, fails to withhold a tax, or fails to remit a tax required under this subchapter shall, if the amount of tax withheld or required to be withheld exceeds $500.00 in a single calendar year, be imprisoned not more than three years or fined not more than $10,000.00, or both.

  (3) False or fraudulent return. Any employer, including any corporate officer or agent, who knowingly makes, signs, verifies, or files with the Commissioner a false or fraudulent tax return shall be imprisoned not more than one year or fined not more than $1,000.00, or both. Any employer, including any corporate officer or agent, who with intent to evade a tax liability makes, signs, verifies, or files with the Commissioner a false or fraudulent return, if the amount of tax withheld or required to be withheld exceeds $500.00, shall be imprisoned not more than three years or fined not more than $10,000.00, or both.

  (4) Lien. In addition, an unpaid tax shall constitute a lien in favor of the State of Vermont as provided in this chapter.

  (d) Withholding liability. Any amount required to be deducted and withheld, and to be paid over to the Commissioner, by a person under this subchapter shall be considered to be a tax liability of the person for purposes of this chapter. The person shall be subject, with respect to that tax liability, to the provisions of this chapter, including the provisions governing returns, fees for late filing of returns, interest and penalties for nonpayment of tax liabilities, liens, levies, and appeals, except as those provisions conflict with the express provisions of this subchapter. Any report required under subsection 5842(c) of this title or rules issued under that section shall be considered to be a return for the purposes of this chapter. (Added 1966, No. 61 (Sp. Sess.), § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1966; amended 1971, No. 73, § 17, eff. April 16, 1971; 1985, No. 266 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. June 4, 1986; 1987, No. 48, § 8; 1997, No. 50, § 17, eff. June 26, 1997; 2019, No. 14, § 79, eff. April 30, 2019; 2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 535, eff. July 1, 2022.)