It Appears Radio Station WTBQ Is Violating Withholding Tax And Workers Compensation Requirements On Its Employees

It appears Frank Truatt of radio station WTBQ needs to take a Business 101 class at Orange County Community College. He needs one taught by local business owners or CPAs. It appears Truatt is relying on the advice of the woman of thousand names aka Taylor Sterling. Sterling is station manager of radio station WTBQ. She is also Truatt’s girlfriend.

Truatt has owned radio station WTBQ since 1994 and he seems to be ignoring the one rule that any sane CPA warns about doing. Truatt is heading into a serious clash with the New York Department of Taxation and Finance and the IRS for ignoring that warning.

Frank Truatt and FST Broadcasting pay employees as independent contractors according to former employees of radio station WTBQ. Frank Truatt may have illegally leapfrogged over that threshold quite a few times over the past five-10 years in order to avoid paying state and federal withholding taxes.

Employee Withholding Laws Are Very Clear

The rules of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and the IRS are very clear. There is a distinction difference between what defines an independent contractor and that of an employee.

If someone working for you who is required to work a set schedule and work inside the office, under DTF and IRS rules these “independent contractors” are employees regardless of how the business want to define them.

A business has to have a written contract with the individual (or their LLC) what their specific roles will be and/or pay them for specific tasks. You can have deadlines for those tasks. Yet, you can not have the independent contractor report to your office on a defined daily schedule.

The daily schedule is where Truatt and radio station WTBQ cross the line. Former employees also tell MFI-Miami that they were required to work a certain daily schedule at radio station WTBQ. Yet, they were given a 1099 form by either Joy Doe or Frank Truatt.

Former employees also say they were constantly required to work more than 40 hours a week. Furthermore, they were also required to do things outside their job descriptions like climb radio station WTBQ’s tower.

Frank Truatt Could Find Himself A World Of  Trouble

Radio station WTBQ could be in violation of New York State Workers Compensation laws.  As a result, station owner Frank Truatt could be in serious trouble.

1099 employees end up paying more than twice what they would have paid in state and federal income taxes than if the employer would have withheld the 12% from them. This is because they are paying their employer’s state and payroll taxes.

You may also be entitled to reimbursement from either the state of New York, FST Broadcasting, or WTBQ.

To find out if you’re entitled to a reimbursement or think you may have been screwed over by Frank Truatt, contact the NY Department of Taxation and Finance:

Phone number: 518-435-8523

Contact them by mail:

NYS Department of Taxation and Finance

Report Suspected Tax Evasion/Fraud

Information Referral Unit

Building 9 Room 480

W.A. Harriman Campus

Albany, N.Y. 12227

Below is also a handy guide from the IRS to use to when considering paying your employees as either “independent contractors” or as W-2 employees: 

IRS Gives 10 Tips on Employees Versus Independent Contractors