# Is this libel? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 3, 2011, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-libel/587692 "2011-07-03T06:01:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TNWPsycho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/47e85d/32.png) [@TNWPsycho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TNWPsycho)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-libel/587692/1 "2011-07-03T06:01:04Z")
You are not my lawyer etc. etc. My company is in a situation with our accountants. We trusted them to handle our sales tax for 2010, which they failed to provide to the IRS in a timely fashion and my company got fined. Move forward to June 2011 and my company gets yet another statement from the IRS saying we still owe sales tax from 2010. Although its a small amount (about $60) it still shows that according to the IRS my company has issues paying our taxes. When my company goes to get some credit im sure stuff like this will come up such as our failure to pay sales tax, failure to pay in a timely manner, etc. Does my company have a potential case for libel? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-libel/587692/2 "2011-07-03T06:09:12Z")
Failure to pay sales taxes isn’t going to show up on any credit report. Your accountant is an agent of your company and if they were incompetent or negligent, you may have a case against them, but I doubt you could recover much more than the cost of the fine. ---
**Author:** ![TNWPsycho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/47e85d/32.png) [@TNWPsycho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TNWPsycho)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-libel/587692/3 "2011-07-03T06:14:34Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Failure to pay sales taxes isn’t going to show up on any credit report. Is the IRS going to be keeping a closer eye on my company because of this? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-libel/587692/4 "2011-07-03T06:33:12Z")
> [@TNWPsycho](#): > > Is the IRS going to be keeping a closer eye on my company because of this? Possibly, but I don’t think there’s any way to know for sure. The IRS does not like to share the methods by which they decide who to keep an eye on or to audit. In general, if your accountant commits a _serious_ error, then any subsequent penalties and interest may be covered by their E&O insurance. Some accountants will cover them as a matter of policy even if their insurance doesn’t. But you’d have to make a pretty convincing case that they screwed up really hard. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-libel/587692/5 "2011-07-03T17:04:03Z")
> [@TNWPsycho](#): > > Does my company have a potential case for libel? Libel? No. The accountants never wrote or said anything about your company (according to what you outlined). Libel is a false statement of fact about an individual or company. There are thing you could probably sue them for, but libel isn’t one of them (even if their actions had hurt your credit rating). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-libel/587692/6 "2011-07-03T18:21:32Z")
Legal advice is best handled in IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-libel/587692/7 "2011-07-03T18:27:10Z")
Maybe you have a case that the company didn’t deliver and that they should pay the fee because they screwed up. But it’s emphatically not libel. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-libel/587692/8 "2011-07-03T18:28:52Z")
I’m confused—sales tax isn’t collected by the IRS. It’s done by state/county. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-libel/587692/9 "2011-07-03T19:20:30Z")
Libel is a false written statement that adversely affects your reputation. There was no false or written statement here. Accountants are liable for malpractice. If you want to recover your $60, then you can sue them for that. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-libel/587692/10 "2011-07-04T03:46:57Z")
They screwed up in 2010, and your company still used them in 2011? Now they have screwed up in 2011 also. Do you still plan to use these accountants in 2012? Maybe instead of spending money on lawsuits, your company ought to fire the financial manager who hires & supervises these accountants? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2011, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-libel/587692/11 "2011-07-05T03:39:46Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > They screwed up in 2010, and your company still used them in 2011? > > Now they have screwed up in 2011 also. Do you still plan to use these accountants in 2012? > > Maybe instead of spending money on lawsuits, your company ought to fire the financial manager who hires & supervises these accountants? Why does it have to be either/or?