BEFORE THE STATE TAX
COMMISSION OF UTAH
_____________________________________
XXXXX, )
:
Petitioner, )
:
v. ) INFORMAL DECISION
:
)
COLLECTION
DIVISION OF THE : Appeal No. 86 0344
STATE TAX
COMMISSION OF UTAH, ) Acct. No. XXXXX
:
Respondent. )
_____________________________________
STATEMENT OF CASE
This
is an appeal to the Utah State Tax Commission from a decision of the Collection
Division of the Utah State Tax Commission (Respondent) to assess penalty and
interest on individual income tax account No. XXXXX for the tax year XXXXX. The Petitioner, in a letter dated XXXXX,
waived his right to an oral hearing.
Therefore, the Tax Commission decides this matter based on the pleadings
before it.
Individual
income taxes for the tax year XXXXX were due on XXXXX. Respondent's records indicate that
Petitioner paid the tax on XXXXX.
Respondent assessed a penalty of $$$$$ and interest of $$$$$ as of
XXXXX, on a tax due of $$$$$.
Petitioner
asserted that he had to leave Utah on or about the deadline for payment of the
XXXXX taxes due to the suicide by a longtime close friend. When Petitioner
realized that he could not make the deadline, he telephoned the Tax Commission
and received the advice to remit the tax owed as soon as possible and to make a
notation that penalty and interest would not apply. Petitioner states that he did follow the verbal instructions and
requests a waiver of penalty and interest.
FINDINGS
An
emergency such as the one that Petitioner encountered is a legitimate reason to
request an extension of time for paying tax.
However, the tax must be paid within a reasonable time after the
emergency subsides. Petitioner was advised over the telephone to remit the tax
as soon as possible.
Petitioner
did not remit the tax within a reasonable time. The statutory deadline for the payment of XXXXX taxes was
XXXXX. Petitioner did not pay the taxes
until XXXXX, ten months later. The
emergency did not last ten months and Petitioner did not otherwise justify this
excessive delay.
DECISION AND ORDER
It
is the Decision and Order of the Utah State Tax Commission that Petitioner's
request for waiver of penalty and interest on individual income tax account No.
XXXXX for the tax year XXXXX be denied.
The
assessment of penalty and interest by the Collection Division of the Utah State
Tax Commission is hereby affirmed.
DATED
this 15 day of October, 1986.
BY ORDER OF THE STATE TAX COMMISSION OF UTAH.
R. H. Hansen Roger
O. Tew
Chairman Commissioner
Joe B.
Pacheco G.
Blaine Davis
Commissioner Commissioner