97-0139

INCOME

Signed 5/1/97

BEFORE THE UTAH STATE TAX COMMISSION

____________________________________

PETITIONER, )

:

Petitioner, ) DECISION

:

v. )

:

AUDITING DIVISION OF THE ) Appeal No. 97-0139

UTAH STATE TAX COMMISSION, :

) Account No. #####

:

Respondent. ) Tax Type: Income Tax

_____________________________________

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 adjudicative proceeding. A hearing was held on April 22, 1997. Jane Phan, Administrative Law Judge, heard the matter for and on behalf of the Commission. Present and representing Petitioner was PETITIONER. Present and representing Respondent were Frank Hales and Daniel Engh.

Based upon the evidence in the file and presented at the hearing, the Commission makes its:

FINDINGS

Petitioner is appealing the assessment of interest in the amount of approximately $$$$$ relating to Petitioner's 1993 Utah individual income tax return. From the information presented by the parties, Petitioner had correctly prepared and filed her return claiming one exemption. A data processing error was made by the Tax Commission employee who entered the return onto the computer system. It was entered as if two exemptions had been claimed. Based on this error, Petitioner's tax liability was recomputed for two exemptions and larger refund was sent to Petitioner than she expected. Petitioner thought that she must have erred in preparing her taxes.

Even though the amounts of the tax liability and refund claimed on Petitioner's return were different from the new computer generated liability, no one reviewed Petitioner's return to check for data entry errors.

APPLICABLE 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(10).)

DECISION AND ORDER

The Tax Commission finds sufficient cause has been shown, due to a data entry error on the part of a Tax Commission employee, to waive the interest associated with Petitioner's 1993 Utah individual income tax. It is so ordered.

DATED this 1 day of MAY, 1997.

BY ORDER OF THE UTAH STATE TAX COMMISSION.

_____________________________

Jane Phan

Administrative Law Judge

The agency has reviewed this case and the undersigned concur in this decision.

DATED this 1 day of MAY, 1997.

BY ORDER OF THE UTAH STATE TAX COMMISSION.

W. Val Oveson Richard B. McKeown

Chairman Commissioner

Joe B. Pacheco Alice Shearer

Commissioner Commissioner

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