BEFORE THE STATE TAX
COMMISSION OF UTAH
_____________________________________
XXXXX
Petitioner, : INFORMAL DECISION
v. :
AUDITING
DIVISION OF THE : Appeal No. 87-0274
STATE TAX
COMMISSION OF UTAH, )
Respondent. :
_____________________________________
STATEMENT OF CASE
This
is an appeal to the Utah State Tax Commission from a decision of the Auditing
Division of the Utah State Tax Commission to assess tax, penalty, and interest
on the XXXXX, purchase of a XXXXX. Petitioner did not request an oral
hearing. Therefore, the Commission
decides this matter based on the materials in the file. Respondent indicated that the cash price for
the vehicle was $$$$$ less a trade of $$$$$ for a tax base of $$$$$. Respondent assessed a sales tax of $$$$$
(tax rate of %%%%%), a %%%%% penalty of $$$$$, and interest (%%%%% per month
from XXXXX) of $$$$$ for a total amount due of $$$$$. The Petitioner stated that he was not a resident of Utah but that
he worked for approximately two months in Utah for XXXXX, a construction firm
that does business in several western states. Petitioner stated that his employer rented the apartment for him,
that he never received a Utah driver's license, that he never listed his Utah
apartment as his residence, that he never considered himself a Utah resident,
and that he never had a telephone listed in his name. Petitioner stated that he purchased the vehicle just before the
end of his work in Utah and that he subsequently departed from Utah.
FINDINGS
Utah
Code Ann. 59-15-6(1)(i) (1953) (new
Section 59-12-104) exempts from sales tax the sales of vehicles of a type
required to be registered under the motor vehicle laws of this state which are
made to bona fide nonresidents of this state and not thereafter registered or
used in this state except as necessary to transport them to the borders of this
state. Petitioner executed a
nonresident affidavit on XXXXX, at XXXXX.
Petitioner stated on the affidavit that his current employment was in
XXXXX, and that the vehicle would not be used in Utah, and that he has not been
a resident of Utah or domiciled in Utah within the past 60 days. The Tax
Commission finds that Petitioner was a resident of Utah for motor vehicle
registration purposes pursuant to Tax Commission Rule R873-01V. Therefore,
Petitioner did not qualify as a nonresident for purposes of Utah Code Ann. 59-15-6(1)(i). Rule 873-O1V(3) defines a
resident for motor vehicle registration purposes as:
Any person, except a tourist temporarily
within this state, or a student covered
under Rule R873-04V, who owns, leases, or rents a residence or a place
of business within this state, or occupies or permits
to be occupied, a Utah residence or place of business.
The
Commission finds that Petitioner's actions in filling out the nonresident
affidavit rise to the level of negligence.
However, the Tax Commission does not find fraud in this matter. Therefore, a %%%% negligence penalty is
properly imposed in lieu of the %%%% fraud penalty.
DECISION AND ORDER
It
is the Decision and Order of the Utah State Tax Commission that tax, interest,
and a %%%% negligence penalty are properly imposed on the purchase of the
XXXXX. The Auditing Division is
directed to adjust its records in accordance with this decision.
DATED
this 16 day of October, 1987.
BY ORDER OF THE STATE TAX COMMISSION OF UTAH.
R. H. Hansen Joe
B. Pacheco
Chairman Commissioner
G. Blaine
Davis Roger
O. Tew
Commissioner Commissioner