What are the implications of section 6672 of the Tax Reform Act on a plaintiff's civil rights?

First, he claims that section 6672 imposes criminal penalties and that it was therefore unconstitutional to apply it without extending to him the rights enjoyed by criminal defendants. The statute essentially provides penalties for breach of that trust imposed by 26 U.S.C. 7501(a) (1970) when an employer fails to pay to the government taxes withheld from the wages of employees. Thus the penalty imposed is civil in nature. Monday v. United States, supra; see Botta v. Scanlon, 314 F.2d 392, 393 (2d Cir. 1963).