Alan Uffenheimer

13-34

On April 28, 2010, the Department sent the Taxpayer assessments for gross receipts tax, penalty and interest for 2005 and 2006, after determining that the Taxpayer was a non-filer for gross receipts tax for those periods.  On August 20, 2010, the Department partially abated the assessments because the Taxpayer provided nontaxable transaction certificates.  At some point in 2010, after being assessed, the Taxpayer went to the Department’s office in Albuquerque to inquire about the amnesty program.  The employee did not know the specifics about the program and told the Taxpayer that she would get back to him.  The employee never got back to the Taxpayer, and the Taxpayer took no further action.  On March 5, 2012, the Department levied the Taxpayer’s bank account and seized an amount that satisfied the outstanding assessments.  On May 14, 2012, the Taxpayer filed a request for refund in regard to the penalty and interest.  The Department denied the request for refund, and the Taxpayer filed a protest to the denial.  The Taxpayer argued that he should not be subject to the assessed penalty and interest, in part because he was never given the information on the amnesty program.  However, the hearing officer found that the penalty and interest were properly assessed and that, even if the Taxpayer had applied for the amnesty program, he would not have been accepted because he had already been assessed.  The Taxpayer’s protest was denied.