BEFORE THE STATE TAX
COMMISSION OF UTAH
_____________________________________
XXXXX
Petitioner, :
v. : INFORMAL DECISION
:
COLLECTION
DIVISION OF THE : Appeal No. 88-0597
STATE TAX
COMMISSION OF UTAH, ) Acct. No. XXXXX
Respondent. :
_____________________________________
STATEMENT OF CASE
This
is an appeal to the Utah State Tax Commission for reconsideration of a
Commission decision denying a request for waiver of penalty and interest
assessments on Petitioners' second quarter XXXXX sales tax return. Pursuant to Utah Code Ann. §63-46b-5 (l)(b),
no hearing was held. A review of
Petitioners file served as the evidentiary basis for this decision.
Petitioner
failed to file a timely second quarter XXXXX sales tax return and was assessed
a late filing penalty and interest.
Petitioner asserts that, at the time the return was due, Petitioner was
being audited by the Commission. The
Tax Commission auditors had found discrepancies in the manner in which
Petitioner had filed the previous returns.
In order to ensure that the second quarter XXXXX return was properly
filed, Petitioner postponed filing the document until the completion of the
audit. Petitioners notified the
auditors of their decision to delay the return filing, but received no instruction
that they should do otherwise.
FINDINGS
Utah
Code Ann. §59-12-107 (8) provides that every vendor shall file a sales or use
tax return with the Commission on a quarterly basis. The return is due on or before the last day of the month
following the calendar quarter. Subsection (18) provides that failure to file
any return as required subjects the vendor to liability for penalty and
interest assessments. Utah Code Ann.
§59--1-401 (l)(b) provides that a penalty of the greater of $$$$$ or 10 percent
of the tax due shall be assessed for failure to file a timely tax due or no tax
due return. However, subsection 7
authorizes the Commission to waive such penalties upon a showing of reasonable
cause. Petitioners discussed with the
auditors their intentions to delay the filing of the return until the audit was
completed and were not instructed to do otherwise. Reliance upon information obtained from the Commission can be
considered reasonable cause.
DECISION AND ORDER
Based
on the foregoing facts, it is the Decision and Order of the Commission that the
request for a waiver of penalty be granted.
Petitioners will be liable for all interest assessments, however.
DATED
this 29 day of September, 1988.
BY ORDER OF THE STATE TAX COMMISSION OF UTAH.