Kirkland v. Department of Revenue

727 P.2d 254, 45 Wash. App. 720
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedOctober 21, 1986
DocketNo. 7436-6-III
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 727 P.2d 254 (Kirkland v. Department of Revenue) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kirkland v. Department of Revenue, 727 P.2d 254, 45 Wash. App. 720 (Wash. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

McInturff, J.

—The Department of Revenue was granted discretionary review of the Superior Court's order denying its motion for summary judgment. We reverse.

The Department assessed excise taxes under RCW 82.08.050 against John Kirkland, d/b/a Kirkland Construction (Kirkland). At least part of the tax was imposed because Kirkland failed to collect tax from other persons, although the tax was initially borne by these third parties. The tax assessed was $16,108.55 for the period between January 1, 1971 and October 1, 1975. Kirkland did not appeal the excise tax assessment, although three notices of his right to appeal before payment were mailed to him. On [722]*722December 21, 1976, a tax warrant was issued against Kirkland by the Department for $19,293.29 for taxes, interest and penalties.

In the early 1970's Kirkland entered into construction contracts with the owners of Holiday Hills and Spokane Raceway Park, Inc. In the Holiday Hills contract, Kirkland was the subcontractor. Kirkland claims that Charles Williams, the owner of Holiday Hills, told the Department auditor he would pay the tax if it had not been paid. Kirkland claims that if Holiday Hills did pay the tax, then his account should have been credited for the payment. In the contract with Spokane Raceway, Kirkland claims tax payments were made to the Department by Spokane Raceway, which also should have been credited to Kirkland's account.

A payment of $7,381.25 made by Kirkland on March 27, 1978, was obtained by serving a notice and order to withhold and deliver on Kirkland's bank account. Further, from January 1985 through June 1985, $5,500 in lease payments was received by the Department from Kirkland's commercial lessees. At the time of the hearing on the summary judgment motion, the Department said the balance owing on the warrant was $22,707.45 through August 21, 1985.

A

Material Issue of Fact

First, the Department contends summary judgment should have been granted because there was no material issue of fact as to whether Kirkland had paid the assessment in full, and therefore Kirkland failed to properly challenge his tax assessment.

The appellate court, in reviewing summary judgments, engages in the same inquiry as the trial court. Highline Sch. Dist. 401 v. Port of Seattle, 87 Wn.2d 6, 15, 548 P.2d 1085 (1976). A summary judgment as a matter of law should be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, and affidavits show no genuine issue as to any material fact. CR 56(c).

The Department moved for summary judgment, con[723]*723tending that the legal remedy available to the taxpayer to contest an excise tax assessment is a refund action. RCW 82.32.150. That statute provides: "All taxes, penalties, and interest shall be paid in full before any action may be instituted in any court to contest all or any part of such taxes, penalties, or interest."

In Morrison-Knudsen Co. v. Department of Rev., 6 Wn. App. 306, 308, 493 P.2d 802 (1972), the court stated that RCW 82.32.150 requires a taxpayer to deposit with the Department the amount of the tax assessment in order to challenge the assessment. The taxpayer's challenge was that the tax properly should have been imposed on the buyer (Department of Highways) under the construction contract in which the taxpayer was the seller. Morrison-Knudsen, at 307, 314. Since Department of Highways had not paid the tax, the taxpayer was required to pay it to have standing to challenge the assessment in superior court. Morrison-Knudsen, at 308.

No other cases were found which interpret RCW 82.32-.150 to require payment before an action can be maintained to challenge the assessment. However, since the statute states prepayment is required before an assessment may be challenged, we must so hold.

This court must decide if the Department met its burden to show there was no material issue of fact as to whether Kirkland had fully paid the tax assessment, entitling the Department to judgment as a matter of law.

Kirkland failed to exercise his administrative remedy to challenge the tax assessment before payment. Although given three notices of his right to challenge the assessment, Kirkland did not. For the purposes of this action, the amount of the tax assessment is an established fact determined by the amended tax assessment of $16,108.55 issued September 23, 1976. Therefore, Kirkland's only remedy is to challenge the assessment in a refund action under RCW 82.32.150. See Morrison-Knudsen.

The Department has introduced an affidavit, supported by a copy of the initial $16,108.55 assessment. After credits [724]*724for payments made by Kirkland ($7,381.25 on March 27, 1978, and $5,500 in lease payments received by the Department from Kirkland's lessees), the Department claims $22,707.45, including penalties and interest, was owed as of the trial court's ruling on summary judgment. Thus, the Department has met its initial burden of showing the tax was not fully paid by Kirkland.

Since the State has met its initial burden, the next inquiry is whether Kirkland has responded with more than conclusory allegations of the existence of an unresolved factual matter. Patterson v. Bellevue, 37 Wn. App. 535, 538, 681 P.2d 266 (1984). In the record before the Superior Court, Kirkland alleged Spokane Raceway paid part of the tax and Holiday Hills may have paid part of the tax assessed against Kirkland, and that those payments would amount to over one-half of the initial $16,108.55. These allegations were not supported by affidavits from Holiday Hills or Spokane Raceway, nor was there any other evidence of actual payment by these entities in the record. Further, in oral argument, Kirkland's counsel indicated the entities were still in existence, so presumably it was possible for Kirkland to obtain affidavits from them. Absent proof of payments by other parties, the only payments in the record are those conceded by the Department. Those payments of $7,381.25 and $5,500 were credited to Kirkland's account in computing the $22,707.45 the Department claims Kirkland still owes. Kirkland's conclusory allegations of full payment are without legal significance, and thus fail to raise a material issue of fact.

B

Due Process

The Department also contends summary judgment should have been granted because Kirkland's procedural due process challenge to RCW 82.32.210 is without merit as a matter of law.

RCW 82.32.210

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Bluebook (online)
727 P.2d 254, 45 Wash. App. 720, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kirkland-v-department-of-revenue-washctapp-1986.