Tomseth v. Dept. of Rev.

CourtOregon Tax Court
DecidedAugust 23, 2016
DocketTC-MD 150434C
StatusUnpublished

This text of Tomseth v. Dept. of Rev. (Tomseth v. Dept. of Rev.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tomseth v. Dept. of Rev., (Or. Super. Ct. 2016).

Opinion

IN THE OREGON TAX COURT MAGISTRATE DIVISION Income Tax

MATTHEW S. TOMSETH ) and DIANA S. TOMSETH, ) ) Plaintiffs, ) TC-MD 150434C ) v. ) ) DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, ) State of Oregon, ) ) Defendant. ) FINAL DECISION1

Plaintiffs appeal Defendant’s Conference Decision Letter dated June 30, 2015, for the

2009 and 2010 tax years. Oral Argument was held in the Tanner Mediation Center on May 26,

2016, in Salem, Oregon. Gregg Barton appeared on behalf of Plaintiffs. Darren Weirnick

appeared on behalf of Defendant. The parties filed a Joint Stipulation of Facts on February 1,

2016. On February 24, 2016, Plaintiffs filed its Motion for Summary Judgment and supporting

Memorandum on the issue of whether Plaintiffs are entitled to a credit for taxes paid on their

behalf to the states of Idaho and Montana. On March 15, 2016, Defendant filed its Cross-Motion

for Summary Judgment and Response to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment (Defendant’s

Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment), arguing that Plaintiffs’ claim for refund was not timely

under ORS 314.410(10)(a). On March 21, 2016, Defendant filed additional legislative materials

in support of its Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment. Plaintiff filed its Response to

Defendant’s Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment (Plaintiffs’ Response) on April 8, 2016.

Defendant filed its Reply on April 18, 2016.

1 This Final Decision incorporates without change the court’s Decision, entered August 3, 2016. The court did not receive a statement of costs and disbursements within 14 days after its Decision was entered. See Tax Court Rule–Magistrate Division (TCR–MD) 16 C(1).

FINAL DECISION TC-MD 150434C 1 I. STATEMENT OF FACTS

Plaintiffs Matthew S. Tomseth and Diana S. Tomseth (Diana) resided in Oregon during

the tax years at issue. (Stip Facts at 2.) For tax years 2009 and 2010, Plaintiffs filed married

joint Oregon personal income tax returns. (Id. at 3.) Plaintiffs filed their original Oregon

personal income tax returns for 2009 and 2010 in October of 2010 and October 2011,

respectively. (Id.) Those returns claimed pass-through items of income, gain, deduction, and

loss for two S corporations: Les Schwab Warehouse Center, Inc. (Warehouse), LS Transport,

Inc. (LS Transport), as well as two Limited Liability Partnerships: SFP-B and SFP-C.

(Id. at 2-3.) Some of Plaintiffs’ interests in those companies were through intermediary

companies and trusts. (Id.) During tax years 2009 and 2010, Warehouse, LS Transport, SFP-B,

and SFP-C conducted business in Oregon and Montana. LS Transport and Warehouse also

conducted business in Idaho and Utah. (Id.) Defendant did not enter into any agreements with

Plaintiffs, LS Transport, Warehouse, SFP-B, or SFP-C to extend the period of limitations for tax

years 2009 and 2010. (Id. at 5.)

Plaintiffs appeal Defendant’s denial of their claim for refund for tax years 2009 and 2010.

(Compl at 2.) At conference, Defendant granted Plaintiffs’ request for refund of excess taxes

paid to Oregon following an audit of Warehouse’s Utah return adjusting their share of income

attributable to Utah under ORS 314.380(2)(b) (allowing taxpayer to claim a refund within two

years after another state correction is made). (Id. at 9-10.) Defendant denied Plaintiffs’ other

refund requests as untimely under ORS 314.415(2)(a) because their claims were not filed within

three years of the due dates of their Oregon personal income tax returns and because the

exception under ORS 314.380(2)(b) was not applicable because they resulted from voluntary

amendments to the entity returns, rather than pursuant to another state’s corrections. (Id.)

FINAL DECISION TC-MD 150434C 2 A. Oregon Pass-Through Entity Returns

LS Transport and Warehouse each filed 2009 Oregon S Corporation Tax Returns on

October 13, 2010. (Stip Facts at 4.) LS Transport and Warehouse each filed 2010 Oregon S

Corporation Tax Returns on October 14, 2011. SFP-B filed its 2009 Oregon Partnership Return

on September 13, 2010, and its 2010 Oregon Partnership Return on August 24, 2011. (Id.)

SFP-C filed its 2009 Oregon Partnership Return on September 10, 2010, and filed its 2010

Oregon Partnership Return on August 25, 2011. (Id.)

B. Plaintiffs’ Oregon Personal Income Tax Returns

Plaintiffs’ original 2009 Oregon return, filed in October of 2010, included a claim for a

$53,161 credit for income taxes paid to other states, including $9,949 to Idaho, and $43,212 to

Utah. (Id. at 3.) Plaintiffs requested that the refund be applied to their 2010 estimated tax. (Id.)

In January 2011, Plaintiffs filed a first amended Oregon return for 2009, reporting a net income

tax after credits in a total amount less than the tax after credits reported on their original 2009

return and claiming the same amount for taxes paid to other states. (Id.)

Plaintiffs’ original 2010 Oregon return, filed in October of 2011, included a claim for

$52,283 credit for income taxes paid to other states, including $11,246 in Idaho taxes and

$41,037 in Utah taxes and requested that any overpayment be applied to their 2011 estimated

tax. (Id. at 3-4.)

C. Utah Audit of Warehouse

On October 11, 2013, following an audit by the Utah State Tax Commission (Utah

Commission), the Utah Commission made changes to Warehouse’s tax liability for various

years, including 2009 and 2010. (Id. at 5.) Those changes resulted in additional tax liability

attributable to Plaintiffs in the amount of $5,397 for tax year 2009 and $7,577 for 2010. (Id.

FINAL DECISION TC-MD 150434C 3 at 5-6.) Defendant does not dispute that Plaintiffs are entitled to a refund for those amounts

under ORS 314.380(2)(b).

D. Montana Returns and Payments

On February 19, 2014, LS Transport and Warehouse entered into Voluntary Disclosure

Agreements with Montana Department of Revenue. (Id. at 6.) On September 10, 2014, SFP-B

and SFP-C also entered into Voluntary Disclosure Agreements with Montana Department of

Revenue. (Id.) Pursuant to those agreements, LS Transport and Warehouse filed Montana S

Corporation Information and Composite Tax Returns for tax years 2009 and 2010 on August 14,

2014. (Id.) SFP-B and SFP-C filed Montana Partnership Information and Composite Tax

Returns for tax years 2009 and 2010 on September 15, 2014. (Id.) The total amount of income

taxes paid by the four pass-through entities on Plaintiffs’ behalf as a result of Diana’s ownership

interests in each of those entities was $9,532 for 2009 and $10,459 for 2010. (Id. at 6-7.) The

Montana Department of Revenue has not made any adjustments to the four pass-through entity

returns filed for 2009 or 2010. (Id. at 7.)

E. Idaho Returns and Payments

Warehouse entered into a Voluntary Disclosure Agreement with the Idaho Tax

Commission on March 1, 2014. (Id. at 8.) On March 31, 2014, Warehouse made a tentative

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