BEFORE THE UTAH STATE TAX
COMMISSION
_____________________________________
XXXXX
:
Petitioner : FINDINGS OF FACT,
: CONCLUSIONS
OF LAW
v. : AND FINAL DECISION
:
: Appeal No.
89-1277
COLLECTION
DIVISION OF THE :
STATE TAX
COMMISSION OF UTAH )
: Account
No. XXXXX
Respondent :
_____________________________________
STATEMENT OF CASE
This
matter came before the Utah State Tax Commission pursuant to the Utah
Administrative Procedures Act for a formal hearing on XXXXX before Joseph G.
Linford, Presiding Officer. No one
representing either Petitioner nor Respondent appeared at the hearing. This decision, therefore, is based upon the
evidence in the file.
After
reviewing the evidence and arguments of the parties in the record and the
recommendation of the presiding officer, the Tax Commission hereby makes its:
FINDINGS
OF FACT
1.
The tax in question is sales tax.
2.
The periods in question are the tax years XXXXX and XXXXX.
3.
Petitioner was under the erroneous impression that she could wait to pay her
sales taxes until she obtained her Mother's Day income to use to pay those
taxes. This occurred for both the tax
years in question.
4.
When Petitioner received the statements of delinquent taxes for the periods in
question, she assumed that she was being charged an overassessment rather than
a penalty for late payment, inasmuch as she did not know that she was late in
paying the taxes in question, therefore, Petitioner has paid the sales tax
amounts, but has not paid the penalty and interest amounts due.
5.
On each of the statements of delinquent taxes the tax amounts, penalty amounts
and interest amounts are all clearly and separately designated, so that it
would be difficult for a person to mistake penalty and interest assessments for
an overassessment or overestimation of tax amounts.
6.
Petitioner now requests the Tax Commission to waive the penalties and interest
due.
CONCLUSIONS
OF LAW
1.
Utah Code Ann. §§59-1-401,59-1-402 and59-12-111 provide that penalties and
interest shall be assessed for the late filing of sales tax returns and the
late payment of sales taxes.
2.
Utah Code Ann. §59-1-401(8) provides that upon reasonable cause shown the Tax
Commission may waive or reduce the penalties and interest assessed under the
above statutes.
3.
Such reasonable cause has not been shown in this case due to the fact that
Petitioner was very late in the payment of the sales taxes in question and also
because it would be very difficult for anyone to assume that the penalty and
interest amounts designated on the statements of delinquent taxes constitute
overestimation or overassessment of tax amounts due.
DECISION AND ORDER
Based
upon the foregoing, it is the decision and order of the Utah State Tax
Commission that the request of Petitioner for waiver of penalties and interest
be denied.
DATED
this 21st day of March, 1990.
BY ORDER OF THE UTAH STATE TAX COMMISSION.
R. H. Hansen Roger O. Tew
Chairman Commissioner
ABSENT
Joe B.
Pacheco G.
Blaine Davis
Commissioner Commissioner