Sims v. United States, 359 U.S. 108 (1959)

Sims v. United States

No. 88

Argued February 26, 1959
Decided March 23, 1959
359 U.S. 108

CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

Syllabus

Under § 6331 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, a Director of Internal Revenue issued notices of levy directed to a State and served them on petitioner, the State Auditor, seizing the accrued salaries of certain employees of the State against whom the Commissioner of Internal Revenue had assessed income tax deficiencies. Petitioner refused to honor the levies, and issued and delivered to the taxpayers warrants for their accrued salaries. The Federal Government then brought this suit against petitioner under § 6332 to recover from him personally the sums he had so paid to the taxpayers in disobedience of the Government’s levies.

Held:

1. Sections 6331 and 6332 authorize a levy on the accrued salaries of the employees of a State to collect federal income taxes. Pp. 110-113.

2. Petitioner, as State Auditor, was a person "obligated with respect to" the accrued and seized salaries, within the meaning of § 6332, and therefore was personally liable for refusing to surrender them to the Government. Pp. 113-114.

252 F.2d 434 affirmed.