United States v. Storey, No. 09-3848 (6th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseDuring 10 years in a 12-year period the defendant, an Ohio physician, filed federal income tax returns that showed she owed taxes — but she failed to pay them. The United States brought an action for judgment and to foreclose on its tax liens on defendant's real property. Defendant argued that her Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition discharged her tax liabilities for some of the years preceding the filing. The district court disagreed and entered a $319,698 judgment in favor of the United States, finding that she had willfully attempted to evade paying taxes for those years, preventing discharge of the obligations through her bankruptcy filing. The Sixth Circuit reversed, holding that the government did not establish willfulness as required by 11 U.S.C. 523(a). There was no evidence that the defendant lived lavishly; the district court incorrectly applied the test applicable only to student loans and made assumptions about her ability to earn more money and her husband's failure to contribute.
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