BEFORE THE UTAH STATE TAX
COMMISSION
_______________________________
In Re: )
:
XXXXX, XXXXX ) FINDINGS OF FACT,
: CONCLUSIONS
OF LAW,
) AND FINAL
DECISION
:
) Appeal No.
92-1772
: 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 were
XXXXX, a certified public accountant, and XXXXX, vice-president of 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 corporate franchise
tax.
2. The period in question is XXXXX through
XXXXX.
3. Petitioner did not file its corporate
franchise return and pay the amount due for the year in question until six
months past the deadline. It was due
XXXXX.
4. As a result, Petitioner was penalized $$$$$
plus interest.
5. The Tax Commission then reduced the penalty
to $$$$$ after Petitioner submitted a request for abatement of penalties and
interest.
6. The $$$$$ reduction in penalties is ten
percent of the total tax due ($$$$$) added to ten percent of ninety percent of
the total tax due that Petitioner should have filed with an extension request
($$$$$).
7. Mr. XXXXX explained that in XXXXX
Petitioner's inhouse accountant left the company.
8. Sometime thereafter he learned that the
former accountant's books were incomplete and sloppy. The accountant had correctly filed, however, two previous
corporate tax returns.
9. Petitioner claims it filed a request for
extension in XXXXX while it endeavored to rectify the bookkeeping problems.
10. Concluding that the bookkeeping was too far
gone, Petitioner contacted certified public accountant XXXXX late in XXXXX to
reconstruct the books.
11. With XXXXX's help, Petitioner filed in
XXXXX.
12. Petitioner is requesting a waiver of the
remaining penalty and interest assessments, claiming that it was unable to
submit an accurate return until the bookkeeping was straightened out.
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
Less
than desirable bookkeeping is not an excuse for failing to file and pay taxes
on time. Petitioner is liable for the
actions/inactions of its employees. In
this case, Petitioner compounded the problems by trying to handle the
accounting problems without the expertise it needed.
Based
upon the foregoing, the Tax Commission finds that sufficient cause has not been
shown which would justify a further waiver of the penalty assessments associated
with the corporate franchise tax due on the period in question. Interest is not waived. It is so ordered.
DATED
this 19th day of March, 1993.
BY ORDER OF THE UTAH STATE TAX COMMISSION.
R. H. Hansen Roger
O. Tew
Chairman Commissioner
ABSTAINED
Joe B.
Pacheco S.
Blaine Willes
Commissioner Commissioner