Exerplay Inc.

14-27

On January 17, 2014, and February 12, 2014, the Department issued six assessments to the Taxpayer for penalty and interest related to withholding tax for the tax periods ending May 31, 2013, through October 31, 2013.  The assessment for the period ending September 30, 2013, also included less than a dollar of tax.   The Taxpayer filed a protest to the assessments.  After hiring a new contract employee in May 2013, who was to be in charge of payroll, some miscommunication between the Taxpayer and this new employee resulted in withholding taxes not being paid by the Taxpayer from May through October 2013.  During this period, the Taxpayer was filing its monthly returns and reporting its tax liability accurately.  In December 2013, when the Taxpayer discovered that the withholding payments had not been made, the Taxpayer paid all of the withholding liabilities for the months in question.   At the hearing, the Taxpayer conceded that it did owe the assessed interest, but argued that the penalty assessed was too severe, as the Taxpayer had discovered and corrected the mistake on its own, and that it was the first time it had made a mistake like this.  The hearing officer found that new case law finds that penalty applies at the time of assessment by the Department.  At the time these assessments were made, the only outstanding tax owed was the amount of less than a dollar in one tax period.  As a result, only the minimum penalty of $5.00 per month, for a total of $30.00 should apply in this situation.  The Taxpayer’s protest was granted in part and denied in part.