Quick question on proof of claim forms and what constitutes an unsecured priority claim. In reviewing 11U.S.C. 507 I find that taxes or penalties owed to governmental units are unsecured priority. Question is, for a debt which includes government-mandated fees or taxes, is that portion of the claim priority unsecured and thus listed separately or is it all lumped in together?
I’m a lawyer, but not a bankruptcy lawyer so take what I say with a grain of salt. Also, I’m not your lawyer, so if you want actual, worthwhile information applicable to your situation, consult with your own lawyer.
The preference for taxes under sec 507(a)(8) only applies to specified “allowed unsecured claims of governmental units.” That is to say that the debtor must owe the taxes directly to a governmental unit.
If you’re not a governmental unit, but rather a private party that has taxes owed as part of a debt (e.g. sales or other excise taxes for goods sold to the debtor), you don’t get the benefit of this preference.
Good luck.
This is pretty much what I figured, except that the taxes and fees include mandated federal access charges that flow directly to the government from us whether the customer pays the bill or not (it’s a phone company so about three different federal agencies get a chunk). I am fairly pleased, however, that I’m not being put in the position of being a tax collector (at least more of one than my work as an account collector already makes me).
And no worries, I don’t hold anyone on these boards liable for actions I take in response to what someone else posts.