On Wednesday, September 23, 2026, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue shut JP House of Pizza at 775 Centre Street in Jamaica Plain and posted an orange seizure notice on the front. The state says the business owes $223,156.70 in unpaid taxes.
Tax seizures of a working restaurant are rare enough to make the news, and the court papers show exactly how the state gets there. The short version: the state can take a business’s property for unpaid taxes without suing first, but it needed a judge’s order to go through the door.
What the court filing says
The Commissioner of Revenue filed in Suffolk Superior Court asking for an “Order For Entry to levy property of a delinquent taxpayer.” The filing, which Universal Hub posted, identifies the taxpayer as JP House Of Pizza Inc., incorporated on July 13, 2021, with Felipe Bermudez listed as corporate president in Secretary of State records.
The taxes owed are withholding tax, meals tax, and meals, food and beverage tax, totaling $223,156.70 with interest. The filing says the commissioner assessed those taxes, that “despite numerous demands the taxpayer has continued to refuse and/or neglect payment,” and that the usual collection methods had failed.
MassLive reported that the department sought court permission in June after levies on the business’s bank accounts recovered just over $2,300, and that Superior Court Judge Robert B. Gordon authorized the request in July. It quoted an affidavit by Tax Examiner Sean Hoar: “The taxpayer is aware of its liability but has failed to submit an acceptable payment agreement to the Department of Revenue.” Universal Hub reported that collection efforts began in January 2025.
These are the department’s allegations in a collection filing. The business has not publicly responded, and nothing reported suggests criminal charges.
Why these particular taxes draw this response
Withholding and meals taxes are not the business’s own money. Withholding is taken out of employees’ paychecks. Meals tax is added to customers’ bills. The business collects both and is supposed to pass them to the state. When it keeps them instead, the state treats it as money belonging to someone else that was never turned over, not as an ordinary unpaid bill.
That is also why the people running the business can be on the hook personally. Under G.L. c. 62C, § 31A, when a corporation fails to pay certain taxes, including withholding and meals taxes, and a person is personally liable for them under the tax statutes, the commissioner notifies that person in writing. The person has 30 days to confer with the department. After that, the person “shall be personally and individually liable for the tax of the corporation,” and a state tax lien attaches to his or her own property. Incorporating does not shield the officer responsible for paying these taxes.
How the state collects without suing
The Department of Revenue does not need a court judgment to collect an assessed tax. Chapter 62C gives it two tools.
- The lien. Under § 50, when a person “neglects or refuses to pay” a tax after demand, the amount becomes “a lien in favor of the commonwealth upon all property and rights to property, whether real or personal, belonging to such person.”
- The levy. Under § 53(a), if the tax is not paid “within ten days after demand,” the commissioner may collect it “by levy upon all property and rights to property.” Section 53(b) defines levy to include “the power of distraint and seizure by any means” and provides that the commissioner “may seize and sell such property.” Under § 53(c), if one levy does not cover the debt, the department may levy again “as often as may be necessary.”
A bank levy is the usual first move. Here, according to the filing, it produced about $2,300 against a debt over $223,000.
Why the state still needed a judge
Seizing equipment and inventory from a restaurant means physically going inside. That runs into the Fourth Amendment. In G. M. Leasing Corp. v. United States, 429 U.S. 338 (1977), the U.S. Supreme Court held that IRS agents violated the Fourth Amendment when they entered a business office without a warrant to seize property for unpaid taxes. The taxing power did not excuse the warrant requirement for entering private premises.
That is the reason for the “Order For Entry.” It serves the same function as a warrant: a judge reviews the department’s showing and authorizes agents to enter the premises to carry out the levy. With that order from July, the department could close the restaurant and post the seizure notice on September 23.
What happens now
The property can be sold. Section 53(b) allows the commissioner to sell what is seized. Proceeds go to the tax debt and the costs of the levy.
The business can still pay or reach an agreement. A seizure is leverage. Businesses in this position often negotiate a payment agreement to get the doors reopened. The affidavit’s complaint was that no acceptable agreement had been offered.
The meals tax registration is at risk. A restaurant needs a certificate of registration from the department to collect meals tax. Under G.L. c. 62C, § 68, the commissioner may suspend or revoke that registration when the registrant “willfully fails to collect, truthfully account for or pay over any tax.” A revocation can be appealed to the Appellate Tax Board within ten days, and the appellant must post a surety bond.
The individuals may be next. If the corporation’s assets do not cover the balance, § 31A lets the department assess the responsible person individually for the withholding and meals taxes.
Frequently asked questions
Why was JP House of Pizza closed?
The Massachusetts Department of Revenue seized the Jamaica Plain restaurant on September 23, 2026, citing $223,156.70 in unpaid withholding tax, meals tax, and meals, food and beverage tax, with interest. A Suffolk Superior Court judge authorized the department in July to enter the premises to levy on its property.
Can the state take a business without going to court?
The Department of Revenue can place a lien and levy on property such as bank accounts without a court judgment under G.L. c. 62C, §§ 50 and 53. To physically enter private business premises to seize property, it needs court authorization, because of the Fourth Amendment rule in G. M. Leasing Corp. v. United States (1977).
Can a restaurant owner be personally liable for unpaid meals tax?
Yes. Under G.L. c. 62C, § 31A, a person responsible for a corporation’s withholding or meals taxes can be assessed personally after written notice and a 30-day window to confer with the department. A lien then attaches to that person’s own property.
Can the state sell the seized property?
Yes. G.L. c. 62C, § 53(b) provides that when the commissioner may levy on property, the commissioner may seize and sell it.
Sources: the Commissioner of Revenue’s memorandum in support of an application to enter premises to effect levy, Suffolk Superior Court, posted by Universal Hub (a scanned document we read by OCR); Universal Hub and MassLive, September 23, 2026, for the seizure, the judge’s July authorization, the bank levy amount and the affidavit quote. Statutory text of G.L. c. 62C, §§ 31A, 50, 53 and 68 read at malegislature.gov. Citation verified and opinion read: G. M. Leasing Corp. v. United States, 429 U.S. 338 (1977). We have not read the court’s July order or the full docket. The amounts owed are the department’s figures. General information about Massachusetts law, not legal or tax advice.