BEFORE THE UTAH STATE TAX
COMMISSION
_____________________________________
XXXXX
Petitioner, :
:
: FINDINGS
OF FACT,
: CONCLUSIONS
OF LAW,
: AND FINAL
DECISION
:
: Appeal No.
89-2708
: Account
No. XXXXX
COLLECTION
DIVISION OF THE :
UTAH STATE TAX COMMISSION, :
Respondent. :
_____________________________________
STATEMENT OF CASE
This
matter came before the Utah State Tax Commission for a formal hearing on
XXXXX. Joseph G. Linford, Presiding
Officer, heard the matter for and on behalf of the Commission. Present and representing the Petitioner was
XXXXX, Certified Public Accountant. No
one representing Respondent appeared 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 sales and use tax.
2.
The period in question is the third quarter of XXXXX.
3.
Petitioner alleges that it mailed the tax return and payment in full for the
period in question on time.
Petitioner
discovered approximately two months after the deadline that the check had not
been cashed. Petitioner contacted the
Tax Commission and alleges it was told that the return was probably still in
the mail room because the mail room was heavily backlogged at the time. A few months later, the Tax Commission
contacted the Petitioner and requested another tax return and check because the
originals could not be located.
Petitioner then stopped payment on the original check and sent in
another copy of the return and a new check for the amount of taxes due.
4.
By letter dated XXXXX, the Tax Commission notified Petitioner that all
penalties had been waived in this case.
Interest amounts were still outstanding.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
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).)
DECISION AND ORDER
Reasonable
cause has not been shown for waiver of the interest in this case. The penalty has already been waived and
there is no evidence that the return and payment were lost by the Tax
Commission. While this may or may not
be the case, it is just as likely that other parties who handled the return and
check may have misplaced it rather than the Tax Commission. Under such circumstances where the State has
been deprived of the use of the tax funds in question for a period of time, the
State should be recompensed for that loss of use.
Based
upon the foregoing, it is the decision and order of the Utah State Tax
Commission that Petitioner's request for waiver of interest is denied. It is so
ordered.
DATED
this a 20th day of August, 1990.
BY ORDER OF THE UTAH STATE TAX COMMISSION.
ABSENT
R. H. Hansen Roger
O. Tew
Chairman Commissioner
Joe B.
Pacheco G.
Blaine Davis
Commissioner Commissioner