BEFORE THE UTAH STATE TAX
COMMISSION
____________________________________
In Re: ) FINDINGS OF FACT,
: CONCLUSIONS
OF LAW,
XXXXX ) AND FINAL DECISION
:
: Appeal No.
90-1590
: 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 was
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 individual income
tax.
2. The periods in question are the tax years
XXXXX through XXXXX and XXXXX.
3. Petitioner was divorced during XXXXX. The divorce had a severe impact upon
Petitioner so that he subsequently went through long periods of unemployment
and financial difficulties. Petitioner
remarried in XXXXX and has since been trying to rebuild his life.
4. Petitioner filed bankruptcy in XXXXX. Petitioner has since paid all of the tax
amounts in question and some of the penalty and interest, and now requests a
waiver of the penalty and interest assessments.
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
type of bankruptcy under which Petitioner has obtained protection does not
discharge penalty and interest charges on delinquent tax obligations, and the
Commission finds insufficient evidence upon which to grant a waiver. The Commission recognizes Petitioner's
financial stress, but this alone is not sufficient under the law to justify a
waiver. Petitioner's taxes over a long
period of time were delinquent, and the law mandates that penalty and interest
be assessed. Additionally, interest
should not be waived because the state was deprived of the tax funds in
question for a period of time through no fault of its own and should be
compensated for that loss of use.
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 XXXXX through XXXXX and the XXXXX time periods. It is so ordered.
DATED
this 8th 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