BEFORE THE UTAH STATE TAX
COMMISSION
_____________________________________
XXXXX
Petitioners, : FINDINGS OF FACT,
: CONCLUSIONS
OF LAW,
v. : AND FINAL DECISION
:
COLLECTION
DIVISION OF THE : Appeal No. 88-1420
UTAH STATE TAX COMMISSION, : Account
No. XXXXX
Respondent. :
_____________________________________
STATEMENT OF CASE
This
matter came before the Utah State Tax Commission for a formal telephone hearing
on XXXXX. Joseph G. Linford, Presiding
Officer, heard the matter for and on behalf of the Commission. Present and representing the Petitioners was
XXXXX, Certified Public Accountant.
Respondent was not represented at the hearing.
Based
upon the evidence and testimony presented at the hearing, the Tax Commission
hereby makes its:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. The tax in question is individual income
tax.
2. The periods in question are the tax years
XXXXX.
3. During the years in question, Petitioners
were utilizing the services of a professional tax preparer whom Petitioners
allege has since been prosecuted for dishonest behavior. This tax preparer filed the original returns
for XXXXX and XXXXX with several errors on them. He later informed Petitioners that he had filed amended returns. Nothing, however, was filed with the federal
government and only the initial returns, without amendments, were filed with
the state. For the XXXXX tax year, this
tax preparer represented to Petitioners that he had filed an extension, but he
apparently did not do so although Petitioners operated under the assumption
that he had. Based upon these facts,
the Petitioners request that the penalty and interest for the years in question
be waived.
4. Petitioners paid all tax, penalty and
interest on this account in XXXXX and the Tax Commission accordingly released
all liens on the account. There is now
a zero balance on the account.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. The Tax Commission is granted the authority
to waive, reduce, or compromise penalties and interest upon a showing of
reasonable cause. (Utah Code Ann.
§59-1-401(8).)
2. Such reasonable cause has not been shown for
waiver of the penalty or interest in this case. The delinquency of Petitioners' professional tax preparer caused
the difficulties which gave rise to the penalty assessments, but Petitioners as
the taxpayers had the responsibility to ensure that the tax preparer in their
employ performed his duties adequately.
In addition, interest should not be waived because the state was
deprived of the tax funds in question for a period of time and should be compensated
for that loss of use.
DECISION AND ORDER
Based
upon the foregoing, it is the decision and order of the Tax Commission that
Petitioners' request for waiver of the penalty and interest is denied. It is so ordered.
DATED
this 21 day of August, 1990.
BY ORDER OF THE UTAH STATE TAX COMMISSION.
R. H. Hansen Roger
O. Tew
Chairman Commissioner
Joe B.
Pacheco G.
Blaine Davis
Commissioner Commissioner