Discount Tire Co. v. Department of Treasury

826 N.W.2d 769, 298 Mich. App. 367, 2012 WL 5848874, 2012 Mich. App. LEXIS 2201
CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 6, 2012
DocketDocket No. 307038
StatusPublished

This text of 826 N.W.2d 769 (Discount Tire Co. v. Department of Treasury) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Discount Tire Co. v. Department of Treasury, 826 N.W.2d 769, 298 Mich. App. 367, 2012 WL 5848874, 2012 Mich. App. LEXIS 2201 (Mich. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

Fer CURIAM.

Respondent appeals as of right the Court of Claims order granting summary disposition in favor of petitioner in this tax matter. We affirm.

[370]*370Petitioner is a Michigan corporation engaged in the business of tire sales and repairs in Michigan and elsewhere. When petitioner sells a tire to a customer, the customer has the option of purchasing a “Certificate for Repair, Refund, or Replacement” at an extra cost. Pursuant to the certificate, if a tire covered by the certificate is damaged within three years of purchase and the tire still has a stated depth of tread remaining, the customer is entitled to have the damaged tire repaired at no cost by petitioner. In the event the tire is irreparably damaged, the customer is entitled to a full cash refund equal to the purchase price and sales tax paid on the tire. Additionally, at the customer’s request, petitioner must provide the customer the opportunity to purchase a comparable replacement tire at a price not exceeding the purchase price of the original tire.

During the tax years at issue (2003-2006), petitioner charged and remitted sales tax to respondent on each original tire sale, but claimed a credit on that remitted sales tax in the event that the tire was returned as irreparably damaged under the certificate. If petitioner sold a replacement tire to the customer pursuant to the certificate, petitioner collected and remitted sales tax to respondent on the replacement tire and also remitted use tax on the replacement tire. In 2007, petitioner requested from respondent a refund of the use taxes remitted on these replacement tires on the ground that petitioner had paid both sales tax and use tax on those tires. Following an audit, respondent denied petitioner’s request.

Petitioner then requested an informal conference with respondent, following which respondent issued an informal conference recommendation supporting respondent’s decision to deny petitioner’s request. The informal conference recommendation concluded that [371]*371petitioner was not permitted to claim a sales tax credit on the return of the irreparably damaged tires because the return provided for in the certificate was not a “return of goods” under the General Sales Tax Act, MCL 205.51 et seq., as defined by respondent’s administrative Rule 16, Mich Admin Code, R 205.16. Further, the recommendation concluded that the replacement tires were provided for free and not sold at retail and that petitioner was, therefore, required to pay use tax on the replacement tire and was not entitled to a refund of that tax. Respondent officially adopted the conclusions of the informal conference recommendation in a January 27, 2010, decision and order of determination denying petitioner the refund it had requested.

Following respondent’s decision, petitioner appealed in the Michigan Court of Claims, and both parties submitted motions for summary disposition. In its October 12, 2011, opinion, the court held that respondent’s Rule 16 was invalid because of its improperly restrictive definition of “returned goods,” that petitioner was entitled to claim a returned-goods sales tax credit on an original tire sale, and that the replacement tire was sold at retail, making the application of a use tax to that tire inappropriate. The court also held that petitioner would be entitled to the returned-goods sales tax credit even under the restrictive definition of “returned goods” found in Rule 16. Accordingly, the court granted petitioner’s motion for summary disposition and denied respondent’s motion for summary disposition. This appeal followed.

This Court reviews de novo questions of statutoiy interpretation. Wexford Med Group v City of Cadillac, 474 Mich 192, 202; 713 NW2d 734 (2006). A lower court’s decision on a motion for summary disposition is also reviewed de novo. Maiden v Rozwood, 461 Mich 109, [372]*372118; 597 NW2d 817 (1999). Under MCR 2.116(0(10), “[sjummary disposition is appropriate if there is no genuine issue regarding any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Latham v Barton Malow Co, 480 Mich 105, 111; 746 NW2d 868 (2008).

On appeal, respondent first argues that petitioner was not entitled to a returned-goods sales tax credit when replacing a customer’s tire pursuant to the certificate. We disagree.

Michigan imposes a six percent sales tax on the gross proceeds of “all persons engaged in the business of making sales at retail, by which ownership of tangible personal property is transferred for consideration . . . .” MCL 205.52(1). MCL 205.56b provides that with respect to such sales tax, “[a] taxpayer may claim a credit or refund for returned goods .. . .”

As acknowledged by respondent, the statutory language at issue is sparse. Our goal in statutory construction, however, is, as always, to give effect to the Legislature’s intent. McCormick v Carrier, 487 Mich 180, 191; 795 NW2d 517 (2010).

This Court begins by reviewing the language of the statute, and, if the language is clear and unambiguous, it is presumed that the Legislature intended the meaning expressed in the statute. Judicial construction of an unambiguous statute is neither required nor permitted. When reviewing a statute, all non-technical words and phrases shall be construed and understood according to the common and approved usage of the language, MCL 8.3a, and, if a term is not defined in the statute, a court may consult a dictionary to aid it in this goal. [Id. at 191-192] (citations and quotation marks omitted).

With these parameters in mind, we do not agree with respondent’s contention that the most reasonable con[373]*373struction of the phrase “returned goods” in MCL 205.56b is that the goods must be returned within a certain time frame and be in substantially the same condition as when they were sold. This “reasonable construction” would require us to take a relatively simple, straightforward, and short statute and add several, much more meaningful and elaborate phrases that, had the Legislature intended for them to appear, it could easily have included.

It is undisputed that petitioner engaged in the retail sale of tires, that it charged customers a six percent sales tax on the original tires at issue, and that it remitted that tax to respondent. When those customers who had purchased certificates presented petitioner an original tire that was deemed irreparable, they returned the original tire to petitioner. When one “returns” a good, one reverts it to a former owner. See The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed). That is precisely what occurred in this matter. And upon the return of an irreparable tire to petitioner, petitioner provided the customer with a full cash refund, including the sales tax. The customer was free to simply take this refund, spend part of it on a tire of lesser value, put all of it toward a tire of greater value, put some or all of it toward other automotive goods and services offered by petitioner, or use it to acquire a tire of comparable value to the original tire for the price paid for the original tire. In short, the customer received a cash refund that could be used in any manner that the customer chose. Petitioner is thus entitled to a credit for the previously remitted sales tax under MCL 205.56b.

While respondent concentrates heavily on petitioner’s obligation under the certificate to provide the customer with the option of purchasing a comparable

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Related

McCORMICK v. CARRIER
795 N.W.2d 517 (Michigan Supreme Court, 2010)
Latham v. Barton Malow Co.
746 N.W.2d 868 (Michigan Supreme Court, 2008)
Wexford Medical Group v. City of Cadillac
713 N.W.2d 734 (Michigan Supreme Court, 2006)
General Motors Corp. v. Department of Treasury
644 N.W.2d 734 (Michigan Supreme Court, 2002)
Clonlara, Inc v. State Board of Education
501 N.W.2d 88 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1993)
Maiden v. Rozwood
597 N.W.2d 817 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1999)

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Bluebook (online)
826 N.W.2d 769, 298 Mich. App. 367, 2012 WL 5848874, 2012 Mich. App. LEXIS 2201, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/discount-tire-co-v-department-of-treasury-michctapp-2012.