hypothetically speaking and this is purely a thought experiment for educational purposes only, let’s say a person started a candle business from a garage. this person set everything up themselves because they didn’t want to pay an accountant.

hypothetically this person did not know sales tax was a thing they needed to collect. they found this out when their state sent them a very real looking letter that used the word “delinquent” several times. hypothetically this person now owes 18 months of uncollected sales tax out of their own pocket because they can’t go back to 4,000 hypothetical customers and ask for 7.5% more on a candle they bought in 2024.

this person called an accountant who said “oh boy” which is not reassuring at $200/hour. google is hypothetically telling this person things ranging from “just pay it” to “jail” so he would love some hypothetical advice here.

EDIT: this is just hypotheticals