[KayEss]

Number one preference is the tax man isn't it? At least in the UK, he always gets paid first.

[RobAley]

That's not been true for a long time. The only "preferential creditor" in the UK now are employees, HMRC take their chances with all other debtors.

[KayEss]

My knowledge of this comes from the dot com crash 15 years ago. I'm pleased that the employees now come ahead of the tax man.

[prostoalex]

In the US you'd have to make a profit to have the tax liability, and if that's the case, the company is unlikely to be going through a fire sale. There's a host of payroll taxes associated with employees, but those get paid as employees get their paychecks, so qualifies under "debt".

[vidarh]

See item 1) debt holders. Within the class of debt holders, the tax man and/or employees with salary claims often have special preference amongst creditors in many countries.