Taxpayer is a New Mexico school district registered with the Department for payment of withholding taxes. In May 2000, the Department assessed the Taxpayer a late-filing penalty for failing to file its CRS-1 report by the due date. The Taxpayer protested the assessment, arguing: 1) the statutes do not authorize imposition of penalty for late filing when the tax payment is received on time; 2) the penalty should be limited to the minimum five-dollar penalty; 3) the Taxpayer was not negligent in failing to file the return on time, and 4) penalty should not be assessed against a public entity. Held: The Department’s assessment of penalty against the Taxpayer was properly issued in accordance with the provisions of Section 7-1-69(A) NMSA 1978. The Department does not have authority to abate or reduce the penalty assessed against the Taxpayer based on the Taxpayer’s status as a public school. Protest denied.
Moriarty Municipal Schools
11/13/2000