Michael Lunnon

17-40

On March 6, 2017, the Department mailed an assessment for personal income tax, penalty and interest for periods starting January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2012. The Department received a formal protest on May 26, 2017. Prior to the assessment being issued by the Department, a limited scope audit was completed. This audit was based on income that was not reported to New Mexico. The Taxpayer responded to the audit indicating that he did not understand the bases for the claim and denied having income in amount specified in the audit notice. During the audit and the protest, the Taxpayer refused to testify about his occupation or his sources of income. However, during the cross examination it was discovered that the Taxpayer manages a business in Gallup. The Department and Hearing Officer were unable to get any further information from the Taxpayer in regards to the business and what kind of payment was received for services performed. The Taxpayer admitted to having a history of disputes with the IRS and argued that the information the Department received from the IRS was not correct. The Department testified that before issuing the assessment the Taxpayer was given the opportunity to ask questions and provide additional information to the Department to reduce the amount of tax owed. The Hearing Officer determined that the Taxpayer did not overcome the presumption of correctness in this case. Based on the information above, the Taxpayer’s protest is denied.