ROTH, Circuit Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This is an appeal from a twelve-count indictment charging the defendant, Rao Gollapudi, with violating two provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. More specifically, Gollapudi was charged with failing to account for and pay over to the Internal Revenue Service federal income taxes, deducted and collected from the total taxable wages of his employees, between 1989 and 1991, in violation of 26 U.S.C. §(s) 7202. Additionally, Gollapudi was indicted for filing a false personal income tax return, Form 1040, for the years 1989 through 1991, in violation of 26 U.S.C. Section(s) 7206(1). Gollapudi now appeals on the grounds (1) that his prosecution for violating 26 U.S.C. §(s) 7202 is barred by the three-year statute of limitations of Section(s) 6531, and (2) that because the responses on the 1040 he filed were truthful he cannot be found guilty of filing a false statement under Section(s) 7206(1). For reasons set forth below, we affirm the decision of the District Court.

II. FACTS

From the company's inception in 1984, the appellant, Rao Gollapudi, has been the president and sole shareholder of Softstar Computer Consultants, Incorporated ("Softstar"), a Michigan corporation involved in the business of analyzing and improving computer systems for Fortune 500 companies. Following the departure of his partner from the company in 1986, Gollapudi became solely responsible for preparing and filing the company's tax returns and paying the wages of its employees. Shortly after assuming this responsibility, Gollapudi failed to make any payment of employment taxes and stopped filing Employer's Quarterly Tax Returns ("941's") with the IRS.

During the years 1989 through 1991, Softstar employed fifteen individuals, who were paid by checks drawn from the company's corporate checking account. Although the checks indicated that federal income taxes and Federal Insurance Contributions Act ("FICA") taxes were being withheld from the employees' wages, Gollapudi did not remit the withheld funds to the IRS. Rather, these funds, totaling approximately $527,828, were deposited into Softstar's corporate checking account where they were used to pay corporate operating expenses. Furthermore, by failing to file 941's, Gollapudi never reported the collection of these withholding taxes to the IRS and, thus, avoided detection.

After an IRS tax examiner discovered that Softstar had failed to file the required 941's and remit any tax refunds to the federal government, Gollapudi admitted that although he collected the appropriate taxes from his employees, he did not turn over the withholdings to the IRS. Instead, he kept the money in the company. Gollapudi further admitted that, although he was aware of his obligations, he did not file the required 941's, W-2's, or corporate tax forms with the IRS. Subsequently, Gollapudi contacted an accountant, David Karpel, who on behalf of Gollapudi filed the delinquent 941's and corporate tax returns and paid $591,000 in back taxes.

Gollapudi's handling of the withdrawals from his own salary was also questionable. Gollapudi filed a personal income tax return, Form 1040, for the tax years 1989, 1990, and 1991, in which he claimed that he had withheld approximately $6,000 in federal income taxes from himself. This amount was not turned over to the IRS. Additionally, there was a question of whether the funds were in fact withheld. Although the government argued that such funds were not withheld, Gollapudi testified that, because he did not receive a regular salary, his withholdings were calculated in a unique manner. Gollapudi explained that instead of receiving a regular salary, he periodically took disbursements from the company. At the end of each year he received the corporate records, calculated the total sum that he had paid as salary, checked the relevant tax tables and calculated the gross salary that would correspond to the net salary he had actually received. The difference between the gross and net salaries, he argued, was treated as having been withheld from his gross pay.

On April 19, 1996, Gollapudi was indicted on nine counts of failing to account for and pay over to the IRS federal income taxes and FICA taxes, deducted and collected from the total taxable wages of his employees, for the final quarter of 1989 and for all four quarters of the years 1990 and 1991, in violation of 26 U.S.C. §(s) 7202. In addition, Gollapudi was charged with three counts of filing false personal income tax returns for the calendar years 1989 through 1991 in violation of 26 U.S.C. Section(s) 7206(1). Prior to trial, Gollapudi moved to dismiss the first nine counts of the indictment as barred by the three year statute of limitations. This motion was denied. Gollapudi was found guilty on all counts and now appeals.

III. JURISDICTION

This is an appeal from a final judgement of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, entered March 7, 1997. An appeal was filed on March 10, 1997. The District Court had jurisdiction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §(s) 3231. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §(s) 1291 and 18 U.S.C. Section(s) 3742.

IV. DISCUSSION

A. Statute of Limitations.

The first issue before the court is whether a violation of 26 U.S.C. §(s) 7202, which prohibits the willful failure "to collect or truthfully account for and pay over" any tax, is subject to a three- or six-year statute of limitations. For the following reasons, we hold that the violation is subject to a six-year statute of limitations and thus will affirm the decision of the District Court on this issue.

The statute of limitations governing 26 U.S.C. §(s) 7202, as well as other criminal tax violations, is set forth in 26 U.S.C. §(s) 6531. This section generally provides that criminal tax proceedings must be initiated within three years of the offense, unless the offense falls into one of eight exceptions providing for a six-year period of limitations. Specifically, the relevant section, Section(s) 6531(4), provides that:

No person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished for any of the various offenses arising under the internal revenue laws unless the indictment is found or the information instituted within 3 years next after the commission of the offense, except that the period of limitations shall be 6 years —

* * * *

(4) for the offense of willfully failing to pay any tax, or make any return (other than a return required under authority of part III of subchapter A of chapter 61) at the time or times required by law or regulations;

26 U.S.C. §(s) 6531(4). The question here is whether a failure to "pay over" any tax under Section(s) 7202 constitutes a failure to "pay any tax, or make any return," under Section(s) 6531(4), and thus is subject to a six rather than three-year statute of limitations.

While the Third Circuit has not yet addressed the issue of whether Section(s) 6531(4) applies to criminal offenses under Section(s) 7202, the District Court followed the decisions of the Second and Tenth Circuits in holding that prosecutions for violations of Section(s) 7202 must be commenced within six years under Section(s) 6531(4). Conversely, two district courts that have addressed the issue have held that section 6531(4) does not apply to Section(s) 7202 offenses and that the applicable statute of limitations is three years. Gollapudi contends that the two district court cases are more persuasive in their analysis than the opinions of the circuit courts and the District Court in this case.

Relying on United States v. Block, 497 F. Supp. 629 (N.D. Ga. 1980), and United States v. Brennick, 908 F. Supp. 1004 (D. Mass. 1995), Gollapudi maintains that the plain language of the statute dictates that failure "to pay any tax, or make any return" under Section(s) 6531(4) does not encompass "the offense of failing to collect, account for or pay over any tax" under Section(s) 7202 (emphasis added). Gollapudi contends that because Congress explicitly distinguished between the failure to "pay" a tax and the failure to "pay over" a tax collected from another in other sections of the Internal Revenue Code and did not include such "pay over" language in Section(s) 6531, it did not intend to include the failure to "pay over" any tax in Section(s) 6531(4).

In support of his first argument, Gollapudi notes that in designing the criminal tax offense set forth in 26 U.S.C. Section(s) 7202 et seq., Congress explicitly distinguished between the failure to pay a tax and the failure to pay over a tax collected from another, as is evident in the comparison between Section(s) Section(s) 7202 and 7203. Furthermore, Gollapudi maintains that the phrase "pay over" or "paid over" was used by Congress sixteen times in the Internal Revenue Code and, thus, constitutes a statutory term of art, referring to (1) third-party taxes as in Section(s) Section(s) 3505(b), 6672(a) and 7501; (2) other amounts collected from third parties as in Section(s) Section(s) 3304(a)(3) and 7652(b)(3); and (3) non-tax amounts as in Section(s) Section(s) 143(g)(3)(D) and 6096(a). Gollapudi argues that because the phrase is a term of art, "pay over" has a specific meaning which is not included in nor interchangeable with "pay".

Next, Gollapudi argues that because Section(s) 6531(4) applies to "the offense" (singular) of willfully failing to pay any tax or make any return, as opposed to any other offense, and because Section(s) 7203 is "the offense" which criminalized such acts, Congress intended that Section(s) 6532(4) apply only to the offense identified in Section(s) 7203, and not to other criminal tax violations. See Block, 497 F. Supp. at 632 (finding persuasive fact that Section(s) 6531(4) is directed at "the offense" of wilfully failing to pay tax, as opposed to class of offenses); Brennick, 908 F. Supp. at 1019 (finding that Congress had expressed its will "in reasonably plain terms" that Section(s) 6531(4) applies only to single offense described in Section(s) 7203).

In interpreting a statute, the starting point is the language of the statute itself. National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh v. City Sav., F.S.B., 28 F.3d 376, 384 (3d Cir. 1994); United States v. Cicco, 10 F.3d 980, 984 (3d Cir. 1993). "In most situations, the plain language rule is the preferred method of statutory interpretation." United States v. Zheng, 768 F.2d 518, 523 (3d Cir. 1985), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1060 (1986). "[O]nly the most extraordinary showing of contrary intentions" in the legislative history will justify a departure from that language. Garcia v. United States, 469 U.S. 70, 75 (1984).

Under a plain reading of this statute, we find it clear that violations of Section(s) 7202 are subject to a six-year statute of limitations under Section(s) 6531(4). Specifically, 26 U.S.C. Section(s) 7202 makes it an offense for an employer to willfully fail to "account for and pay over" to the IRS taxes withheld from employees. Given that Section(s) 6531 pertains to "failing to pay any tax," the District Court correctly found that the failure to pay third-party taxes as covered by Section(s) 7202 constitutes failure to pay "any tax," and thus, is subject to the six-year statute of limitations under Section(s) 6531(4). United States v. Gollapudi, 947 F. Supp. 763 (D. N.J. 1996). Accord United States v. Musacchia, 900 F.2d 493, 500 (2d Cir. 1990), cert. denied, 501 U.S. 1250 (1991) (holding that six-year statute of limitations in Section(s) 6531(4) is applicable to violations of Section(s) 7202); United States v. Porth, 426 F.2d 519, 522 (10th Cir.) (finding that Section(s) 7202 was "clearly within the six-year exception to the general three-year statute of limitations of Section(s) 6531"), cert. denied, 400 U.S. 824 (1970). See also United States v. Evangelista, Nos. 1478, 1479, Dockets 96-1712(L), 96-1718(CON), 1997 WL 459057, at *8 (2d Cir. Aug. 13, 1997) (reaffirming Musacchia, holding that six-year statute of limitations applies to offense defined by Section(s) 7202).

Although we could conclude our analysis here as the statutory language in Section(s) 6531(4) is plain and unambiguous, United States v. Cicco, 10 F.3d 980, 984 (3d Cir. 1993) (unambiguous language deemed "conclusive"), we will address why we find the Georgia and Massachusetts cases relied upon by Gollapudi to be unpersuasive.

In United States v. Block, the court found that Congress had the statutory scheme of 26 U.S.C. §(s) 7201 et seq. in mind when fashioning Section(s) 6531. 497 F. Supp. at 632. This was inferred from the facts that there are specific references to Section(s) 7201 et seq. provisions in Section(s) 6531, and that the language of Section(s) 6531 borrows extensively from various Section(s) 7201 et seq. sections. The Block court reasoned "[i]t seems unlikely . . . that Congress would have used the language of so many of the Section(s) 7202 et seq. code sections when drafting the subsections of Section(s) 6531 but omit use of the key words of Section(s) 7202 if it had intended to make failure to `pay over' third-party taxes subject to the six-year statute of limitations." Id.

We find this line of reasoning in Block unpersuasive. The statute of limitations for all criminal tax violations is set forth in 26 U.S.C. §(s) 6531. The offenses which fall under the eight exceptions to Section(s) 6531 are included either by general description of the proscribed conduct or by a reference to a specific section of the code. It is clear to us that where Congress intended to limit the applicability of the Section(s) 6531 exceptions, it unambiguously did so. Thus, whereas subsections five, six, seven and eight of Section(s) 6531 are expressly limited to offenses arising under Section(s) Section(s) 7206(1) and 7202, 7212(a), 7214(a), and 18 U.S.C. §(s) 371 respectively, the District Court correctly held that subsection four contains a general description of offenses, not limited to violations of Section(s) 7203 or to any other specific offense. Gollapudi, 947 F. Supp. at 766. Musacchia, 900 F.2d at 500. As the District Court stated, "[t]he focus must be on the duty imposed by these specific sections of the Code, not on the particular words present or absent in an attempt to reconstruct congressional intent. An employer's duty to pay taxes withheld from his employees is at least as great as the duty to pay personal income taxes." Gollapudi, 947 F. Supp. at 767.

Furthermore, the fact that Section(s) 6531(4) uses the word "offense" rather than "offenses" does not convince us that Congress intended Section(s) 6531(4) to be limited to violations of Section(s) 7203. Conversely, we agree with the rationale of the Second Circuit in United States v. Musacchia that "the language of section 6531(4) — applying the six-year statute of limitations to `the offense of willfully failing to pay any tax, or make any return . . . at the time or times required by law or regulations' — suggests that it applied to any of several sections of the Code that define such an offense." 900 F.2d at 500 (citing 26 U.S.C. §(s) 6531(4)).

Moreover, we find the District Court's reliance on the Second Circuit's decision that it would be inconsistent for Congress to have prescribed a six-year limitation period for the misdemeanor offense defined in 26 U.S.C. §(s) 7203 (failure to file a return or pay a tax) while providing only a three-year limitation period for the felony offense defined in Section(s) 7202, to be well-founded. Gollapudi, 947 F. Supp. at 766 (citing Musacchia, 900 F.2d at 500). As the court in Musacchia concluded, it would make little sense if the period in which an offense could be prosecuted for the misdemeanor of failing to file a tax return was twice as long as the period in which an offender could be prosecuted for the felony of failure to pay taxes over to the IRS collected on behalf of employees. As the District Court stated, "[t]he focus must be on the duty imposed by these specific sections of the Code, not on the particular words present or absent in an attempt to reconstruct congressional intent. An employer's duty to pay taxes withheld from his employees is at least as great as the duty to pay personal income taxes." Gollapudi, 947 F. Supp. at 767.

B. Filing False Income Tax Return.

The second issue before us is whether the District Court erred in finding Gollapudi guilty of violating Section(s) 7206(1), for filing a false personal tax return. In order to find Gollapudi guilty of that offense, the government had to prove that (1) defendant made and subscribed a return which was false as to a material matter; (2) the return contained a written declaration that it was made under the penalties of perjury; (3) defendant did not believe the return was true and correct as to every material matter; and (4) defendant falsely subscribed to the return willfully, with the specific intent to violate the law. United States v. Bishop, 412 U.S. 346, 350 (1973).

Gollapudi contends that because his tax return was accurate as to the amount of federal income tax withheld from his gross pay and because the form did not ask whether the withholdings were ever submitted, he cannot be found guilty of this offense. Gollapudi argues that the amount of withholdings were accurate in that they reflected a "gross up" process. In addition, relying on two Seventh Circuit decisions, Gollapudi argues that the literal truth of the information on a tax return is a complete defense, even if the response on the return was highly misleading. United States v. Reynolds, 919 F.2d 435 (7th Cir. 1990), cert. denied, 499 U.S. 942 (1991); United States v. Borman, 992 F.2d 124, 126 (7th Cir. 1993) (in establishing violation of Section(s) 7206(1), "the untruth must be found in a statement of some material information called for by the form itself, and any implication drawn from the filing of a particular form . . . is simply not enough.").

We must examine the evidence in the light most favorable to the government and sustain the verdict if "any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 318 (1979). We conclude that there was ample evidence for the District Court to find that Gollapudi filed a false statement. First, an IRS agent testified that Gollapudi admitted that he prepared and signed the W-2 forms and that they were false. Additionally, although Gollapudi presented evidence that the withholding amounts were true based on his "gross up" method, the District Court found this theory to be without merit based on the testimony of another IRS agent who demonstrated that no withholding was actually made. Moreover, it was established that the alleged withholding was never submitted to the IRS, but rather, was maintained in Gollapudi's corporate checking account.

Furthermore, Gollapudi's reliance on Reynolds and Borman is misguided. Both of those cases involved Section(s) 7206(1) charges for filing the wrong tax form. Reynolds, 919 F.2d at 437 ("Using the wrong form does not violate Section(s) 7206(1)."); Borman, 992 F.2d at 126 (holding that filing of improper form is not enough to establish false statement for Section(s) 7206(1) purposes). Furthermore, in Reynolds, the theory in the indictment was that one specific line (line 7) of the form which was filed was false. 919 F.2d at 437. The Seventh Circuit held that because line 7 was merely derived arithmetically from two other lines, and was thus an accurate reflection of the difference between the other two lines on the form, that the literal truth of the answer was a defense to perjury. Id. The Seventh Circuit indicated, however, that if the charge in the indictment had not been limited to that one line or if the defendant had left something blank indicating that he was hiding something, its decision would have been different. Id.

Regardless, we hold that the District Court was correct in finding that Gollapudi filed a false statement on a tax return in violation of Section(s) 7206(1), in that he misstated the amount of his withholdings. Despite the fact that he understood his obligations, he submitted a form which he did not believe was true and accurate as to every material matter.

V. CONCLUSION

For the above reasons, we will affirm the decision of the District Court.