Opinion ID: 205504
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Conduct Requirement

Text: The government satisfies the conduct requirement when it proves the debtor engaged in affirmative acts to avoid payment or collection of taxes, either through commission or culpable omission. Jacobs, 490 F.3d at 921 (citations and quotation marks omitted); see also Fretz, 244 F.3d at 1329; Griffith, 206 F.3d at 1395-96. Accordingly, this Court has held that mere non-payment of taxes is insufficient to satisfy the conduct requirement; however, nonpayment in conjunction with a failure to file tax returns has been deemed to constitute evasive conduct. See Fretz, 244 F.3d at 1329-30; see also In re Birkenstock, 87 F.3d 947, 951-52 (7th Cir.1996). In the instant case, it is undisputed that Mitchell failed to timely file tax returns for 1998 through 2002 as he did not file tax returns for those years until June 2003, and he failed to pay the federal taxes he owed for those years. Therefore, this Court concludes that the record supports the findings of the bankruptcy and district courts that Mitchell's failure to file tax returns and failure to pay taxes for 1998 to 2002 was sufficient to satisfy the conduct requirement of § 523(a)(1)(C).