Yarborough v. United States

This is an appeal in a criminal case in which appellant was convicted under all fourteen counts of an indictment, the first two of which charged wilful failure to file income tax returns for the years 1949 and 1950 and the remainder charged wilful failure to file returns of income taxes withheld from the wages of employees and social security taxes due with respect to their wages for the six quarterly periods embracing the year 1950 and the first half of the year 1951. Appellant was operating a restaurant in Washington City, and the evidence shows without contradiction that his receipts for each of the years in question were in excess of $72,000 and adjusted gross income was in excess of $12,000 for one of the years and in excess of $8,000 for the other. He had a number of employees from whose wages he made deductions on account of income and social security taxes, the deductions so made together with his share of the social security taxes due amounting to more than $600 per quarter for each of the quarters. He admits the receipt of income and the liability with respect to the income withholding and social security taxes and also the failure to file returns; and for this failure no excuse is offered except that he did not have the money to pay the taxes due on the returns. Four principal questions are raised by the appeal, viz.: (1) whether the District Court for the District of Maryland had jurisdiction of the cause; (2) whether wilful failure to file returns as to income withholding and social security taxes constituted a crime; (3) whether the law was correctly charged with respect to the element of wilfulness and reasonable doubt; and (4) whether there was error in refusing to charge the jury on the question of compromise.