SEATTLE — An Eastside restaurant owner is accused of skipping out on more than $400,000 in taxes due to the state of Washington.
The charges are being filed by State Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
His office says this is the first case they've prosecuted under a new state law outlawing sales suppression software.
The restaurant involved is Facing East Taiwanese Restaurant, a very popular restaurant just north of Bellevue Square.
Its owner, Yu-Ling Wong, is accused of purposely using a software program, known as a zapper, to hide taxable income from the state. Wong is due in court Wednesday.
“It enables them to avoid paying sales taxes on those sales that essentially disappear from the transaction sheet and it makes it hard to track,” Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said.
The state says Wong admitted to using the software for many years to under-report her taxes. Ferguson says Wong also kept a second set of books.
KIRO 7 investigated Wong and her restaurant earlier this month just before charges were filed.
The case is being watched closely as the attorney general’s office investigates other restaurants as well as the man who sells the zapper software.
Cox Media Group
