BEFORE THE UTAH STATE TAX
COMMISSION
_____________________________
In Re: ) FINDINGS OF FACT,
: CONCLUSIONS
OF LAW,
XXXXX ) AND FINAL DECISION
:
: Appeal No.
90-1031
: Account
No. XXXXX
______________________________
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 Petitioner were XXXXX and XXXXX.
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 tax.
2.
The period in question is the second quarter of XXXXX.
3.
Petitioner states that the reason the prepayment for the period in question was
not timely made was because of staff turnover problems and Petitioner's
inability to "instantly educate a new person to the nuances of sales tax
rules and procedures." It is
Petitioner's position that since the untimely payment was an error, the penalty
should be waived. In Petitioner's view
a penalty should be assessed only in cases of intentional disregard of law or
gross negligence.
Petitioner
asserts that the penalty is extreme and punitive and not commensurate with the
violation of the prepayment deadline.
Petitioner cites a good past history in the timely filing and payment of
sales taxes, including past prepayments.
4.
Petitioner made the prepayment for the second quarters of XXXXX, XXXXX and
XXXXX. Petitioner had received a
prepayment tax return for the period in question, but the new employee
responsible for sales tax remittance was not informed by the former employee of
the necessity of the prepayment.
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
Petitioner
is responsible for the actions of its employees. Petitioner was aware of the sales tax prepayment requirement
since Petitioner had met that requirement in the past. The penalties and interest in this case were
assessed only according to law and are not excessive or punitive. Utah Code Ann. §59-1-401 provides that
penalties amounting to XXXXX for failure to timely file and XXXXX for failure
to timely remit taxes are to be assessed in cases of simple negligence, such as
in this case. Gross negligence or
intentional disregard of the law are not necessary prerequisites for a penalty
to be assessed. Penalties are assessed
in cases such as this as an incentive to encourage taxpayers to not be negligent
in the timely filing and payment of taxes in the future.
Based
upon the foregoing, the Tax Commission finds that sufficient cause has not been
shown which would justify a waiver of the penalty and interest associated with
the second quarter of XXXXX. It is so
ordered.
DATED
this 15 day of February, 1991.
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