Former Columbus charter school treasurer must repay over $70,000 for late tax payments

The Ohio Auditor's office issued a finding for recovery Thursday against the former treasurer of a Columbus charter school who failed to remit tax withholdings from employee earnings.

Candace Wyant, the former treasurer of the A+ Arts Academy in Columbus, must repay $70,195 in penalties and interest incurred because she failed to remit tax withholdings from the school's employees' earnings on time, state Auditor Keith Faber announced.

Wyant was the fiscal officer for the A+ Arts Academy, located on Fair Avenue on the Near East Side, from August 2018 through July 2020, and was responsible for filing taxes withheld from employees' pay.

During Wyant's time as treasurer, auditors' late filings were made to the IRS in six consecutive quarters and to the city of Columbus in five consecutive quarters, resulting in penalties and interest of $55,094 and $15,101, respectively, the auditor’s office said.

Auditors said these incurred costs were unnecessary expenditures that did not serve a proper public purpose and could have been avoided had the funds been remitted by the required due dates

Wyant and her bonding company, the Cincinnati Insurance Company, are both liable for the late fee penalties and interest.

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Cbehrens@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Former treasurer of Columbus charter school receives $70,000 fine