International Tax Review is part of the Delinian Group, Delinian Limited, 8 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX, Registered in England & Wales, Company number 00954730
Copyright © Delinian Limited and its affiliated companies 2023

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

$6 tax bill costs widow her home

dracula.jpg

Unhappy at its near-namesake’s monopoly as the home of horror stories, Battisti’s plight shows Pennsylvania is playing catch-up

While Transylvania is the legendary home of Count Dracula, it is the US state of Pennsylvania that has thrown up a new horror story. A Pennsylvania judge has ruled against a woman who lost her home because of an outstanding $6.30 interest charge for the late payment of school taxes.

Eileen Battisti, a widow from Pennsylvania, told the Associated Press that she will appeal the decision.

"I paid everything, and didn't know about the $6.30," she said. "For the house to be sold just because of $6.30 is crazy."

The dispute is centred on the payment of 2008 school district taxes (plus penalties and interest). Battisti submitted those payments six days late, in early May 2009, incurring a $6.30 interest penalty as a result. Battisti claimed she was never informed of the penalty amount.

Battisti is seeking to appeal the decision on the grounds that she has struggled to assume responsibility for financial matters that were handled by her husband up until his death in 2004. She also cited "physical and emotional challenges" as extenuating circumstances that have caused her to "be tardy in paying taxes", including serious physical injuries that befell the family and the murder of her son's college friend.

more across site & bottom lb ros

More from across our site

ITR’s latest quarterly PDF is going live today, leading on the EU’s BEFIT initiative and wider tax reforms in the bloc.
COVID-19 and an overworked HMRC may have created the ‘perfect storm’ for reduced prosecutions, according to tax professionals.
Participants in the consultation on the UN secretary-general’s report into international tax cooperation are divided – some believe UN-led structures are the way forward, while others want to improve existing ones. Ralph Cunningham reports.
The German government unveils plans to implement pillar two, while EY is reportedly still divided over ‘Project Everest’.
With the M&A market booming, ITR has partnered with correspondents from firms around the globe to provide a guide to the deal structures being employed and tax authorities' responses.
Xing Hu, partner at Hui Ye Law Firm in Shanghai, looks at the implications of the US Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act for TP comparability analysis of China.
Karl Berlin talks to Josh White about meeting the Fair Tax standard, the changing burden of country-by-country reporting, and how windfall taxes may hit renewable energy.
Sandy Markwick, head of the Tax Director Network (TDN) at Winmark, looks at the challenges of global mobility for tax management.
Taxpayers should look beyond the headline criteria of the simplification regime to ensure that their arrangements meet the arm’s-length standard, say Alejandro Ces and Mark Seddon of the EY New Zealand transfer pricing team.
In a recent webinar hosted by law firms Greenberg Traurig and Clayton Utz, officials at the IRS and ATO outlined their visions for 2023.