Ohio Code 718.99 – Violations; penalties
(A) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, whoever violates section 718.35 of the Revised Code, division (A) of section 718.13 of the Revised Code, or section 718.03 of the Revised Code by failing to remit municipal income taxes deducted and withheld from an employee, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree and shall be subject to a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or imprisonment for a term of up to six months, or both, unless the violation is punishable by a municipal ordinance or resolution imposing a greater penalty or requiring dismissal from office or discharge from employment, or both, in which case the municipal ordinance or resolution shall govern.
Attorney's Note
Under the Ohio Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Felony of the fifth degree | 6 to 12 months | up to $2,500 |
| Misdemeanor of the first degree | up to 180 days | up to $1,000 |
Terms Used In Ohio Code 718.99
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
- Employee: means an individual who is an employee for federal income tax purposes. See Ohio Code 718.01
- imprisonment: means being imprisoned under a sentence imposed for an offense or serving a term of imprisonment, prison term, jail term, term of local incarceration, or other term under a sentence imposed for an offense in an institution under the control of the department of rehabilitation and correction, a county, multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal jail or workhouse, a minimum security jail, a community-based correctional facility, or another facility described or referred to in section 2929. See Ohio Code 1.05
- Income: means the following:
(1)(a) For residents, all income, salaries, qualifying wages, commissions, and other compensation from whatever source earned or received by the resident, including the resident's distributive share of the net profit of pass-through entities owned directly or indirectly by the resident and any net profit of the resident, except as provided in division (D)(5) of this section. See Ohio Code 718.01
- Person: includes individuals, firms, companies, joint stock companies, business trusts, estates, trusts, partnerships, limited liability partnerships, limited liability companies, associations, C corporations, S corporations, governmental entities, and any other entity. See Ohio Code 718.01
- Whoever: includes all persons, natural and artificial; partners; principals, agents, and employees; and all officials, public or private. See Ohio Code 1.02
(B) Any person who discloses information received from the Internal Revenue Service in violation of division (A) of section 718.13 of the Revised Code shall be guilty of a felony of the fifth degree and shall be subject to a fine of not more than five thousand dollars plus the costs of prosecution, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or both, unless the violation is punishable by a municipal ordinance imposing a greater penalty or requiring dismissal from office or discharge from employment, or both, in which case the municipal ordinance shall govern.
(C) Each instance of access or disclosure in violation of division (A) of section 718.13 of the Revised Code constitutes a separate offense.
(D) Nothing in this chapter prohibits a municipal corporation from prosecuting offenses which are made punishable under a municipal ordinance or resolution levying an income tax and for which no other penalty is provided under this section.