03 January, 2011

Tax Excuses 634 - 661:

634. The penalty for assessed on us was a heavy burden for a struggling business [Anglo Persian Emporium Trading Co., Ltd. v. Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (No. TC00584, Appeal number LON/2008/1444, [2010] UKFTT 296 (TC)
1st Tier Tribunal, London, 1 July 2010).].


635. I had sold a business, spent all the proceeds of sale and had no money left to pay the unexpected tax bill [Neil Clarke v. Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (No. TC00603, Appeal number TC2009/16834, [2010] UKFTT 316 (8 July 2010).].


636. My employer used the wrong tax code rate (his tax return was filed nearly a year past the due date) [Stuart Griffiths v. Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (No. TC00653, Appeal number TC/2010/02166, [2010] UKFTT 371 (TC) (10 August 2010).].


637. The merger of our parent corporation with the Lorillard Corporation caused abnormal conditions and business problems, had a substantially adverse effect on personnel, and necessitated additional time being spent in combining procedure, tax calendars, and files in order to develop a systematic and effective work pattern for our tax department [Appeal of Loew's San Francisco Hotel Corp., California State Board of Equalization, SBE-XIX-193,73-SBE-050 (17 September 1973.).].


638. When I let my partner withdraw $100,000 from the business he agreed to pay the taxes [Illinois Dept. of Revenue v. John Doe, Illinois Dept. of Revenue Office of Admin. Hearings, Dkt. No. ST 10-05 (2 April 2010).].


639. The controller we had at that time had failed to accurately reconcile the cash against the general ledger in such a way so that we could tell that we had missed the payment [Illinois Dept. of Revenue v. ABC Sales and Service, LLC, Illinois Dept. of Revenue Office of Admin. Hearings, Dkt. No. ST 10-09 (24 May 2010).].


640. I owe no tax because I have rendered all tribute that the scripture, commonly referred to as the Holy Bible, requires me to render [Glover v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2010-228, n. 9.].

641. As we were preparing for our acquisition of Texaco, we had problems with our new computer system, and we had difficulties in hiring and retaining qualified personnel in our Tax Department and Computer Operations Department [Matter of Getty Terminals Corp., N.Y. State Tax Tribunal, Decision DTA No. 810743 (17 November 1994).].

642. I was taking care of my sick mother, and I also suffered injuries while playing football for the Oakland Raiders [Matter of the Trace R. L. Armstrong, California State Board of Equalization, No. 474197 (23 February 2010).].


643. The tax return was hidden by a misplaced file on a desk and we therefore thought the return was filed when it was not [Matter of Purdue Regency Apartments, California State Board of Equalization, No. 495740 (13 July 2010).].


644. The employee who was supposed to file the gross product returns left her employment, and we had a staffing shortage on account of declining oil prices [Matter of The Termo Company, Wyoming State Board of Equalization, No. 2000-77 (11 August 2000).].


645. "I appeal to you to waive the tax penalty, as this year has been quite a financial struggle for me. No only was my 13th month salary halved, but there was also no profit share and this year my company has requested me to take 4 weeks unpaid leave. With all my prior commitments this year I am finding it very hard to meet these financially." (He understated his income on his tax return). [Hong Kong Inland Revenue Board of Review Case No. D59/09 (19 March 2010).].


646. We have been suffering from financial hardship due to the recession. The federal and state governments have an express policy of helping small businesses, of which we are one. Affirming the lateness penalties on our sales tax return and payment will cause us further hardship, while the waiver of these additions will further the governmental policy of aiding small businesses by helping us survive the recession. [West Virginia Office of Tax Appeals, Decision Nos. 09-039 C & 09-072 C (4 February 2010).].


647. When responsibilities for filing our Washington State tax returns transitioned from our home office in Oakbrook, Illinois, to its accounting center in Columbus, Ohio, the payment due date was inadvertently changed in our computer system from the 21st of the month to the to the 25 th of the month [Matter of McDonald's Restaurants of Washington, Inc., Washington Board of Tax Appeals, No. 64482 (13 March 2007).].


648. My wife, who was the business bookkeeper, had side effects from her surgery and her use of valium, so after she prepared the tax returns she just stuck them in her desk instead of filing them [Gargalianos v. Commissioner, Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board, Docket Nos. 167936-939 (18 January 1995).].


649. We didn't withhold and pay over the subcontractor's taxes because the subcontractor was the owner's son, the relationship between father and son in a contractor-subcontractor relationship is unusual, and it caused us to not properly to consider matters as we would have had we engaged someone outside the family as subcontractor [Michael Mitchell v. Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (No. TC00745, Appeal number TC/2009/10865, [2010] UKFTT 485 (TC) (11 October 2010).].



650. The funds withdrawn from my bank account in Ireland arrived late, and then, when I sent the check to my accountant so that he could pay Her Majesty's Revenue, he left for Malaysia [John Dignam v. Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (No. TC00777, Appeal number: TC/2010/06114, [2010] UKFTT 522 (TC) (28 October 2010).].


651. "I admit when we came last time we bought tobacco. It was such a good deal we decided to go again." (The automobile was seized for evasion of customs duties) [Hitesh Desai v. Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (No. TC00845, Appeal number: TC/2010/01211, [2010] UKFTT 595 (TC) (24 November 2010).].



652. The company's records were destroyed in a flood of the Grand River, but I didn't really function as an officer of the company; I just put my name down as the President as part of my usual practice for organizing the investment units of my client [Ross v. Levin, Ohio Bd. of Tax Appeals, No. 2007-M-117 (14 July 2009).].


653. I didn't file during the tax amnesty period because I thought that, based upon what I thought I owed, the penalties under the tax amnesty would be greater than the ordinary penalties for not filing [Doss v. Levin, Ohio Bd. of Tax Appeals, No. 2008-M-725 (14 September 2010).].


654. We should be exempt from the Sales & Use Tax because the University of Minnesota Veterinary Hospital doesn't pay them and the Minnesota Legislature never intended to give them a tax break for services that compete with a private sector veterinary clinic [Veterinary Radiation Therapy Clinic v. Commissioner, 2010 Minn. Tax LEXIS 35 (No. 7906-R, Minnesota Tax Ct., 29 November 2010).].



655. We don't approve of the way the government is spending our tax money. It would be better if our economy would collapse than to try to save the World Bank or the IMF [Matter of Anonymous, Dkt. No. 21375, Idaho State Tax Comm. (8 June 2009).].

656. "The people that would have any information regarding this ridiculous tax issue are my grandparents and father. None of which will return my phone calls or help me find a way to prove that I don’t owe any money. I have no clue how to get a hold of any paperwork that will prove my point. … I am a full time student paying for school out of my own pocket. This is a hugely unnecessary headache in my life." [Matter of Anonymous, Dkt. No. 21275, Idaho State Tax Comm. (12 June 2009).].


657. The money garnished from my paycheck should have been be applied towards my taxes that year (it was applied towards prior years' delinquent taxes) [Dillard v. State, Alabama Dept. of Revenue, Admin. Law Div., Dkt. No. NC. 10-514 (18 November 2010).].


658. In the business owner's previous enterprises he was not significantly involved in collecting sales taxes or filing the tax returns with the Department of Revenue, and his misunderstanding was compounded by his medical condition, which made it difficult for him to understand things that would be readily apparent to others [Matter of Anonymous, Washington Dept. of Revenue, Determination No. 10-0125, 29 WTD 90 (21 April 2010).].


659. My accountant had to curtail his practice because his mother died, and then I had to take care of my ailing father, and I was stressed by the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 [Verduzco v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2010-278].


660. We shouldn't be liable for the Service Tax because we operate on a "No Profit, No Loss" basis and only recover the cost from the licensees (the Service Tax is imposed irrespective of profit or loss) [M/S RPG Enterprises Ltd v. Commissioner of Central Excise, 2008-TIOL-643-CESTAT (W. Zonal Bench, Mumbai, 4 April 2008).].

661. I had health problems, and, after the federal government suddenly shut down my employer due to questionable business practices at the end of 1998, I was busy looking for work but there were no jobs available. My tax obligations were not a priority as I was focused on trying to survive [Matter of the Appeal of Boxer, California State Board of Equalization, No. 474201, 13 July 2010).].