91-0002
Withholding Tax
Signed 3/15/91
BEFORE THE UTAH STATE TAX
COMMISSION
_____________________________________
In Re: )
: INFORMAL DECISION
XXXXX ) Appeal No. 91‑0002
: Account No. XXXXX
_____________________________________
STATEMENT OF
CASE
This matter came before the Utah State
Tax Commission pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act and the rules of
the Utah State Tax Commission for informal proceedings. No hearing was requested, therefore, this
decision is based upon information contained in the Tax Commission's file.
FINDINGS
The tax in question in this case is
Petitioner's withholding tax for the first quarter of XXXXX. Petitioner's withholding tax report and
payment were mailed to the Tax Commission on XXXXX.
Petitioner was informed by the Tax
Commission on XXXXX, that the withholding tax return and payment had not been
received by the Tax Commission.
Petitioner immediately put a stop payment request on the original check
(XXXXX) and issued a second check (XXXXX) along with a copy of the withholding
tax return.
Petitioner was notified in XXXXX that
the payment and return had still not been received by the Tax Commission. Petitioner issued another check which was
hand delivered to the Tax Commission and a receipt was received by Petitioner.
On XXXXX, Petitioner received a
telephone call from the Tax Commission indicating that Tax Commission employees
had found check XXXXX, which had been issued on XXXXX. Apparently this check and its accompanying
return had been lost and had only just been located by the Tax Commission. This check was returned to Petitioner.
The above facts indicate that the
penalty in this case should be waived.
It appears that Petitioner did mail the tax return and payment in a
timely manner, and the fact that it was not received in a timely manner by the
Tax Commission was not due to any fault of the Petitioner.
Regarding the interest assessment, the
Tax Commission finds that it should not be entirely waived. While there is some indication that there
were difficulties which may have been caused by Tax Commission personnel by the
temporary loss of check XXXXX and its accompanying return, there is no
indication that any problem was caused by the state as to the receipt of check
XXXXX and its accompanying return which were originally mailed in XXXXX. The
state was deprived of the use 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. Therefore, interest should only be
reduced to the amount accrued as of XXXXX, the date of the first replacement
check (XXXXX) which was temporarily lost, and interest amounts accruing after
this date should be waived.
DECISION AND
ORDER
The Tax Commission finds that
sufficient cause does exist to waive the penalty associated with the
withholding tax for the first quarter of XXXXX. Interest is reduced to the
amount which had accrued up until XXXXX, adjusted to account for the waiver of
the penalty. Interest amounts accruing
after that date are waived. It is so
ordered.
DATED this 15 day of March, 1991.
BY ORDER OF THE
UTAH STATE TAX COMMISSION.
R. H. Hansen Roger O. Tew
Chairman Commissioner
Joe B. Pacheco G. Blaine Davis
Commissioner Commissioner
NOTICE: You
have twenty (20) days after the date of the final order to file a request for
reconsideration or thirty (30) days after the date of final order to file in
District Court a petition for judicial review.
Utah State Tax Commission Administrative Rule R861‑5A‑l(p)
and Utah Code Ann. '63‑46b‑14(3)(a).
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