Section 48-7-126. Assessable penalties and interest

   (a)  Assessable as tax. The liabilities specified in this Code section shall be paid upon notice and demand by the commissioner and shall be assessed and collected in the same manner as are income taxes. Except as otherwise provided by law, any reference to "tax" imposed under this article shall be deemed also to refer to the liabilities specified in this Code section.

(b)  Failure to withhold tax. Any person required to deduct and withhold the tax imposed by Code Section 48-7-101 who, with respect to each wage payment to each employee, fails to deduct and withhold the required tax shall pay a penalty of $10.00 unless it is shown that the failure is due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect. The penalty shall not exceed $10.00 quarterly for each employee with respect to whose wages the failure occurred.

(c)  Failure to file employer return or pay tax. If an employer fails to file within the prescribed time a return required under this article or fails to pay when due the tax required under this article, or both, unless it is shown that the failure is due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect, there shall be assessed a penalty of $25.00 against any employer for each such failure plus 5 percent of the amount of the tax if the failure is for not more than one month and an additional 5 percent for each additional month or fraction of a month during which the failure continues. The penalty shall not exceed $25.00 plus 25 percent in the aggregate of the tax and in no event shall the penalty be less than $25.00. If any check or money order in payment of any amount is not paid when duly presented for payment, it shall constitute a failure to pay under this subsection.

(d)  Fraudulent withholding receipt. Any person required to furnish an employee with a withholding receipt required by Code Section 48-7-105 who willfully furnishes a false or fraudulent receipt shall for each such receipt be subject to a penalty of $50.00.

(e)  Interest. If the tax imposed by this article on employers is not paid on the date prescribed for payment in Code Section 48-7-103 and is not adjusted as authorized in Code Section 48-7-104, interest on the unpaid amount at the rate specified in Code Section 48-2-40 shall be paid for the period from the due date of the tax, irrespective of any extension of time for payment, until the date of payment. The interest shall be assessed and collected as part of the tax.

(f)  Failure of corporation to pay estimated tax. If a corporation fails to timely pay estimated tax, a penalty shall be assessed against the corporation in an amount equal to 5 percent of the Georgia income tax imposed on the corporation for the taxable year.

Ga. L. 1960, p. 7, § 30; Ga. L. 1963, p. 18, § 7; Ga. L. 1975, p. 156, § 6; Code 1933, § 91A-3926, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 309, § 2; Ga. L. 1980, p. 10, § 23; Ga. L. 1988, p. 1380, § 6; Ga. L. 1991, p. 739, § 3.