HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pittsburgh man who failed to pay state sales tax and file corporate tax returns has been sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay more than $9,000 in back taxes, Secretary of Revenue Gregory C. Fajt said today.
John Parris Howard, 63, former owner of Ethan Inc., pleaded guilty to 14 counts of state tax offenses in Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas on Feb. 6. Judge John F. Cherry sentenced Howard to one year of probation and ordered him to pay $9,010.72 in restitution to the commonwealth for the sales taxes owed during the tax filing periods between August 2003 and June 2004. Howard was also ordered to pay $600 in fines and court costs.
Howard owned Subway restaurants in Harmarville from March 2000 to November 2002, and in Blawnox from March 2003 to May 2004.
The Department of Revenue's Office of Criminal Tax Investigations developed the case against Howard and referred it to the Office of Attorney General after Howard refused to voluntarily comply. Senior Deputy Attorney General George R. Zaiser prosecuted the case on behalf of the commonwealth.
