BEFORE THE UTAH STATE TAX
COMMISSION
____________________________________
In Re: ) FINDINGS OF FACT,
: CONCLUSIONS
OF LAW,
XXXXX ) AND FINAL DECISION
:
: Appeal No.
90-1658
: 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, considered the matter for and on behalf of the Commission. Representing the Petitioner was XXXXX,
C.P.A. XXXXX, in a telephone
conversation with personnel from the Appeals Division of the Utah State Tax
Commission prior to the hearing, indicated that Petitioner desired the case to
be decided on the documents in the file without the necessity of a personal
appearance by the Petitioner or his representative.
Based
upon the evidence in the file and presented by Petitioner, the Tax Commission
hereby makes its:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. The tax in question is sales tax.
2. The period in question is the first quarter
of XXXXX.
3. In XXXXX, petitioner began working with Tax
Commission employees to bring current Petitioner's delinquent sales tax
obligations. A payment schedule was
established and Petitioner paid $$$$$ per month for the next few months, while
at the same time keeping current on Petitioner's sales tax obligations as they
came due. Eventually Petitioner made
what Petitioner thought was the final payment and was told by the Tax
Commission person with whom Petitioner was working that everything had been
paid and that there would be no further obligation on the part of Petitioner
for the past due taxes.
4. Approximately three months later, Petitioner
received a notice from the Tax Commission indicating that additional amounts
were owed. Petitioner contacted the
person with whom they had worked at the Tax Commission, who after investigation
informed the Petitioner that she had made a mistake inasmuch as one quarter,
i.e., the period in question, had still not been paid. Petitioner paid the taxes
immediately.
5. By letter dated XXXXX, the Tax Commission
has waived all penalties in this case, but not interest amounts. Petitioner requests that since a mistake had
been made by a Tax Commission employee, the interest portion should be waived
as well.
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
mistake by the Tax Commission employee involved in this case did not cause
Petitioner to pay late the sales tax for the period in question. The mistake only related to the completion
of Petitioner's payment schedule. Therefore, sufficient consideration has
already been given to the circumstances in this case by the waiver of the
penalty by the Commission. A further
waiver of the interest is not appropriate since the state was deprived of the
tax funds in question for a period of time and should be compensated for the
loss of use of the money.
Based
upon the foregoing, the Tax Commission finds that sufficient cause has not been
shown which would justify a waiver of the interest associated with the first
quarter of XXXXX. It is so ordered.
DATED
this 2 day of April, 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