98-033
Response
May 26, 1998
REQUEST
LETTER
April
24, 1998
Dear
Irene:
We
are currently trying to resolve a jeopardy assessment against COMPANY A
(formerly COMPANY A) that was issued last year. This assessment was issued
because we could not locate the records for the audit within a time frame set
by the auditors.
I
am trying to confirm and clarify some information given to me by the auditor
regarding our options with respect to this assessment. I was told that you would be the person to contact in order to get answers to
the following questions:
1. If we pay the assessment, can we apply
for a refund if we locate the proper records?
2 If the answer to question 1.) is yes,
what is the procedure for applying for the refund and what statute governs the
refund procedure in Utah?
3. Is there a statute of limitations
regarding the refund request?
4. Do we have any other options other than
paying the assessment and applying for
a refund?
We
received the assessment in May, 1997 and would like to resolve it as soon as possible. Any help you could
give us would be greatly appreciated.
If
you have any questions concerning this issue, please call me at #####.
Sincerely,
NAME
May
26, 1998
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY
STATE ZIP
RE: Advisory
Opinion - Refund Options After a Sales Tax Audit Assessment
Dear
NAME,
We have received your request for an
advisory opinion concerning the sales tax audit deficiency assessed to COMPANY
A (“COMPANY A”) on May 30, 1997 for Account Number #####. Before we address your specific questions,
let us clarify one statement in your letter which is in error. You have referred to the assessment against
COMPANY A as a “jeopardy assessment.”
While Utah law does give the Tax Commission a jeopardy assessment
collection option, it has not been employed in this instance.
Utah Code Ann. §59-12-114 gives the
recipient of a sales tax audit assessment two options to protest that
assessment. The first is to file an
appeal to the Commission. The second is
to pay the assessment and file a claim for a refund. When the taxpayer does neither, Utah Code Ann.§59-12-113(2)
allows the Tax Commission to collect the delinquent account by issuing a
warrant against the taxpayer’s real and personal property. The Tax Commission did employ this
collection option in December, 1997.
Let us now address your specific
questions.
Question 1. The answer is yes. As mentioned above, COMPANY A had two options to protest its May,
1997 audit assessment. The first
option, filing an appeal with the Tax Commission, no longer exists, as the
appeal had to have been filed within thirty days of the mailing of the
assessment notice. However, the second
option is still available to COMPANY A.
Utah Code Ann. §59-12-110(2) does allow a taxpayer to pay a tax and file
a claim to obtain a refund, regardless of whether the taxpayer objected to a
notice of deficiency by filing an appeal.
Question 2. It is Section 59-12-110(2) that allows the
taxpayer to pay the audit assessment and apply for a refund. To apply for a refund, a taxpayer should
make the request in writing and address it to:
Customer
Service Division
Utah State
Tax Commission
210 N 1950 W
Salt Lake
City, UT 84134
When
requesting the refund, please state in your letter that the refund is for an
audit assessment. You should also
include in the letter the account number, the tax type, the audit period, the
taxpayer’s name, and a explanation of reasons for refund.
Question 3. Yes, the request must be made within three
years from the day on which the tax is paid.
Question 4. No.
As mentioned earlier, the alternative was to apply directly for an
administrative hearing before the Commission, but this option was only
available within thirty days after the mailing of the assessment notice.
Please contact us if you have any
other questions.
For
the Commission,
Joe
B. Pacheco
Commissioner
^^