While the following story doesn’t come from here in Maryland, the lessons it teaches about businesses and tax liens are applicable no matter where it originates. A start-up company in San Antonio, called Vysk Communications, has been hit with a tax lien by the Internal Revenue Service. Vysk is a company that produces “privacy” cellphone cases, with the intent of the case being that your microphone can be muffled and your phone’s camera can be blocked — thus preventing proprietary parties or third-parties from accessing private data that is knowingly or unknowingly captured.
But the company has fallen on some difficult financial and logistical times, and as such, they have not paid payroll taxes from the latter half of 2014 to the first half of 2016. The IRS has filed a tax lien to recoup the roughly $1.9 million in unpaid payroll taxes.
That is a significant lien, and for a business a tax lien can cripple their ability to improve their financial standing while also making it very difficult for them to sell or move property. Addressing a tax lien is important regardless of whether you are an individual or a business. But for businesses, a tax lien can derail your entire business model.
Vysk Communications is in a difficult spot now. They have to try to resolve their tax lien issues while going through some clear financial problems. There are deals that you can strike with the IRS to adequately address the lien, but these are best done with legal support by your side.
Source: mySA.com, “San Antonio-based Vysk hit with tax liens, lawsuits,” Patrick Danner, March 30, 2017