During bankruptcies, an automatic stay prohibits creditors from taking collection actions while proceedings are ongoing. But a Wisconsin couple recently found that the stay was not an absolute thing. Enter the IRS.
In Pansier v. U.S., 2019 PTC 494 (E.D. Wis. 2019) a district court affirmed a bankruptcy court’s decision to lift the automatic stay. This lift let the IRS levy the debtor’s pension even though the bankruptcy case was still in motion. The reasoning from the bankruptcy court: The pension was exempt from regular creditors and was therefore still available to the IRS outside of the bankruptcy.
Take-away: The IRS has far more collection power than most creditors!
If you or someone you know has received a Notice of Intent to Levy or has some other federal or Florida state tax problem, please feel free to contact me at either (352) 317-5692 or email jim@taxrepgainesville.com.
