BEFORE THE UTAH STATE TAX
COMMISSION
________________________________
In Re: ) FINDINGS
OF FACT,
: CONCLUSIONS
OF LAW,
XXXXX ) AND FINAL DECISION
:
: Appeal No.
90-1086
: Account
No. XXXXX
:
____________________________________
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.
Based
upon the evidence and testimony presented at the hearing, the Tax Commission
hereby makes its:
FINDINGS OF FACT
l.
The tax in question is individual income tax.
2.
The period in question is the tax year XXXXX.
3.
When filing his state and federal income taxes for the year in question,
Petitioner completed both the state and federal income tax returns and wrote
one check to the federal government and another to the Utah State Tax
Commission. Petitioner states that he included the check to the state with his
state tax return in the preprinted envelope addressed to the Tax Commission,
and that he included the federal return and payment separately in their
envelope. Both envelopes, however, went
to the IRS processing center and both checks were cashed by the federal
government. Petitioner later received a
refund from the IRS for the overpayment and has since filed and paid the taxes
owed to the state.
4.
Because Petitioner did receive both canceled checks from the bank, he assumed
that the taxes, both to the state and the federal government, had been paid in
full. The error was discovered by
Petitioner approximately 16 months later when Petitioner called to inquire
about a refund he thought was due him for the XXXXX tax year as a result of the
legislature's enactment mandating such a refund to taxpayers from the state's
surplus for that year.
5.
A perusal of Petitioner's bank statement for the period of time when he wrote
out the tax checks shows that Petitioner did have sufficient funds in the bank
to pay the taxes in question. Based
upon these facts, the Petitioner requests a waiver of the penalty and interest
assessed due to the late filing and payment of the taxes in question.
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
The
Tax Commission finds that sufficient reasonable cause has been shown for a
waiver of the penalty assessed in this case due to the circumstances as
outlined above. Interest, however, is
not 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.
Based
upon the foregoing, the Tax Commission finds that sufficient cause has been
shown which would justify a waiver of the penalty associated with the XXXXX tax
year. Interest is not waived, but shall
be adjusted to account for the penalty waiver.
It is so ordered.
DATED
this 20th day of December, 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