Withholding by employer of delinquent tax of employee.

The department of revenue may give notice to any employer deriving income having a taxable situs in this state (regardless of whether any such income is exempt from taxation) to the effect that an employee of the employer is delinquent in a certain amount with respect to state taxes, including penalties, interest, and costs. Upon receipt of the notice of delinquency, the employer shall withhold from compensation due or to become due to the employee the total amount shown by the notice. The department of revenue may direct the employer to withhold part of the amount due the employee each pay period, until the total amount as shown by the notice, plus interest, has been withheld. The employer may not withhold more than 25 percent of the compensation due the employee for any one pay period, except that, if the employee leaves the employ of the employer or gives notice of the employee’s intention to do so, or is discharged for any reason, the employer shall withhold the entire amount otherwise payable to the employee, or so much thereof as may be necessary to equal the unwithheld balance of the amount shown in the notice of delinquency, plus delinquent interest. In crediting amounts withheld against delinquent taxes of an employee, the department of revenue shall apply amounts withheld in the following order: costs, penalties, delinquent interest, delinquent tax. The “compensation due” an employee for purposes of determining the 25 percent maximum withholding for any one pay period shall include all wages, salaries, and fees constituting income, including wages, salaries, income advances, or other consideration paid for future services, when paid to an employee, less amounts payable pursuant to a garnishment action with respect to which the employer was served prior to being served with the notice of delinquency and any amounts covered by any irrevocable and previously effective assignment of wages, of which amounts and the facts relating to such assignment the employer shall give notice to the department of revenue within 10 days after service of the notice of delinquency.

In any case in which the employee ceases to be employed by the employer before the full amount set forth in a notice of delinquency, plus delinquent interest, has been withheld by the employer, the employer shall immediately notify the department in writing of the termination date of the employee and the total amount withheld.

The employer shall, on or before the last day of the month after the month during which an amount was withheld, remit to the department or to the person that the department prescribes that amount. Any amount withheld from an employee by an employer shall immediately be a trust fund for this state. Should any employer, after notice, willfully fail to withhold in accordance with the notice and this subsection, or willfully fail to remit any amount withheld, as required by this subsection, such employer shall be liable for the total amount set forth in the notice together with delinquent interest as though the amount shown by the notice was due by such employer as a direct obligation to the state for delinquent taxes, and may be collected by any means provided by law including the means provided for the collection of delinquent income or franchise taxes. However, no amount required to be paid by an employer by reason of his or her failure to remit under this paragraph may be deducted from the gross income of such employer. Any amount collected from the employer for failure to withhold or for failure to remit under this subsection shall be credited as tax, costs, penalties and interest paid by the employee.

The department shall refund to the employee excess amounts withheld from the employee under this subsection.

Employers required to withhold delinquent taxes, penalties, interest and costs under this subsection shall not be required to withhold amounts other than the total amounts certified to such employers by the department and shall not be required to compute interest, costs or other charges to be withheld.

The department of revenue may, by written notice, require any employer, as defined in s. 71.63 (3), to withhold from the compensation due or to become due to any entertainer or entertainment corporation the amount of any delinquent state taxes, including costs, penalties, and interest, shown by the notice. The employer shall send the money withheld to the department of revenue on or before the last day of the month after the month during which an amount was withheld.