Opinion ID: 1605808
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Sandra's responsibility for twenty-five percent of a Federal Tax Lien of $104,130.90 (plus interest and penalties) due to a business owned by Henry.

Text: ¶ 29. In his finding of facts and conclusions of law, the trial judge found the federal tax lien that had been assessed against a business owned by Henry to be a joint debt. Though Henry owned the business, and was primarily responsible for incurring the lien, the trial court determined that both parties nonetheless enjoyed the fruits of this business and that the assets of both parties would have been reduced equally, had the taxes been paid timely. The trial court also found that both parties jointly spent the proceeds from a settlement that was received from a lawsuit filed to recover these taxes. The trial court therefore apportioned Sandra twenty-five percent of the debt. ¶ 30. Citing the Internal Revenue Code, Sandra argues that, because she cannot be held criminally responsible for Henry's willful violation of the federal tax code, the tax debt cannot be considered a joint debt. ¶ 31. Under Mississippi law, tax liens and the consequences thereof to the marital estate fall under the Ferguson factors. Ferguson, 639 So.2d at 928. As was found by the trial court, while Sandra may not knowingly have been the cause of incurring the tax lien itself, she nonetheless bore some responsibility as far as the marital estate was concerned. In this Court's opinion, the trial court's decision that Sandra be responsible for twenty-five percent of this debt from her divided share of the marital estate is without error.