Or as the police always seem so fond of saying, “ignorance of the law is no excuse”.
Double standers anyone?
If you withhold money from the government the IRS charges a daily compounding interest rate equal to the short-term federal funds rate plus 3%, calculated on a quarterly basis. In addition to the interest charged, the IRS will also assess a failure-to-pay penalty of anywhere from 0.05-1% on the unpaid balance each month. The total penalties and interest can easily add up to 9-12% per year.
In my mind Mr. Tan Nguyen should also be compensated with a similar interest rate on the 6 months he was deprived of his funds. Preferably the offending officer should be required to pay this or it should be paid by the department and deducted from his salary.
