BEFORE THE UTAH STATE TAX
COMMISSION
__________________________________
In Re: )
:
XXXXX ) FINDINGS OF FACT,
& XXXXX, : CONCLUSIONS OF LAW,
) AND FINAL
DECISION
:
) Appeal No.
92-1749
: Account
No. XXXXX
_____________________________________
STATEMENT OF CASE
This
matter came before the Utah State Tax Commission for a formal hearing on
XXXXX. Lisa L. Olpin, Presiding
Officer, heard the matter for and on behalf of the Commission. Present and representing the Petitioner was
XXXXX, owner.
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 and use tax.
2. The periods in question are the second,
third and fourth quarters of XXXXX; the third and fourth quarters of XXXXX; and
the second and fourth quarters of XXXXX.
3. In, XXXXX, a mechanic, opened his own small
auto repair shop named XXXXX XXXXX.
4. By XXXXX, XXXXX was doing a substantial
amount of repair work for the XXXXX, increasing his business substantially.
5. XXXXX offered to finance XXXXX's move to a
larger facility if XXXXX would contract to fix their trucks.
6. XXXXX agreed and XXXXX became a partner in
the business, renaming the business XXXXX XXXXX and XXXXX.
7. XXXXX worked as shop manager and XXXXX
handled the accounting.
8. Soon after the new partnership formed,
XXXXX's secretary told him that XXXXX was not keeping up with tax filings. XXXXX contacted XXXXX on numerous occasions
about his concerns over tax matters.
9. According to XXXXX, XXXXX responded that it
would handle the situation.
10. By this time, XXXXX and XXXXX were not
getting along as XXXXX wanted to control XXXXX.
11. In XXXXX, XXXXX bought XXXXX out of XXXXX.
12. XXXXX struggled to keep the business going
despite heavy tax and vendor debt obligations that accrued while the
partnership existed from XXXXX-XXXXX.
13. XXXXX continued to service XXXXX
vehicles. XXXXX, in turn, bounced large
checks payable to Petitioner.
14. In XXXXX, XXXXX had to go out of business.
15. In early XXXXX, XXXXX paid the back sales
and use taxes. He applied for a waiver
of penalties and interest in the spring of XXXXX.
16. Petitioner's waiver request was never
processed until XXXXX when Petitioner came to the Tax Commission and spoke to
the waivers unit personally. Prior to
that time, Petitioner had worked with a field collector in XXXXX who told
Petitioner that he thought the waiver was in process months ago. The field collector acknowledged that
somehow two earlier waiver requests never went through the waivers unit for
consideration.
17. At this time, XXXXX states he is financially
strapped.
18. In looking at Petitioner's tax account, it
is noted that Petitioner was charged two ten percent penalties for late filing
and late payment for the third quarter of XXXXX for being one day late. Also, Petitioner was charged one ten percent
late filing penalty for the fourth quarter of XXXXX for being one day late
again.
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
Based
upon the foregoing, the Tax Commission finds that sufficient cause exists to
waive the penalty assessments for the third quarter of XXXXX and fourth quarter
of XXXXX in that the filings and payments were only one day late. The interest
is waived for the period of XXXXX through XXXXX only. The Collections Division is directed to recalculate Petitioner's
account given this order. It is so
ordered.
DATED
this 25TH day of February, 1993.
BY ORDER OF THE UTAH STATE TAX COMMISSION.
ABSENT
R. H. Hansen Roger
O. Tew
Chairman Commissioner
Joe B.
Pacheco S.
Blaine Willes
Commissioner Commissioner