Waite v. Dept. of Rev.

CourtOregon Tax Court
DecidedDecember 15, 2015
DocketTC-MD 150362N
StatusUnpublished

This text of Waite v. Dept. of Rev. (Waite 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
Waite v. Dept. of Rev., (Or. Super. Ct. 2015).

Opinion

IN THE OREGON TAX COURT MAGISTRATE DIVISION Income Tax

CURTIS WAITE and LISA WAITE, ) ) Plaintiffs, ) TC-MD 150362N ) v. ) ) DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, ) State of Oregon, ) ) Defendant. ) ORDER

Plaintiffs filed their Complaint on June 26, 2015, challenging Defendant’s Notices of

Determination and Assessment for the 2010, 2011, and 2012 tax years. Plaintiffs maintain that

they were not Oregon residents for any of those tax years. (See Ptfs’ Compl at 1.) Defendant

maintains that Plaintiffs “are both domiciled residents of the State of Oregon and were required

to file resident income tax [returns]” for the tax years at issue. (Def’s Ans at 1.) Defendant filed

a proposed Stipulated Agreement on August 18, 2015, offering to “abate its entire 2012 Income

Tax Assessment dated 04/01/2015 and there will be no tax penalty or interest from that specific

tax notice due for tax year 2012[.]”1 Because Defendant has agreed to provide Plaintiffs with

their requested relief for the 2012 tax year, that tax year is not before the court.

Defendant sent Plaintiffs its “first request for documents” on July 15, 2015, prior to the

case management conference held July 29, 2015. During the case management conference,

Plaintiffs objected to Defendant’s document requests as overly broad. On August 3, 2015,

Defendant filed a “Statement of Intent” and a Motion to Compel Discovery. In its Statement of

Intent, Defendant wrote that there were no material facts in dispute on the legal issue of whether

1 Defendant also proposed to abate the penalties and interest imposed for the 2010 and 2011 tax years. During the case management conference held September 2, 2015, Plaintiffs’ authorized representative stated that Plaintiffs do not agree to the amounts of tax calculated by Defendant for the 2010 and 2011 tax years.

ORDER TC-MD 150362N 1 “the Servicemembers Civil Relief [Act] (SCRA) * * * precludes a servicemember from

establishing a domicile for income tax purposes in Oregon while on active duty here in Oregon.”

Defendant further wrote that it intended to file a “Motion for Partial Summary Judgment” on that

issue. Plaintiffs filed their Response on August 14, 2015, again objecting to several of

Defendant’s document requests as overly broad. Plaintiffs agreed to respond to document

requests 1, 7, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, and 23. (Ptfs’ Resp at 2.)

In an Order issued August 19, 2015, the court denied Defendant’s Motion to Compel

Discovery as premature under the Magistrate Division rules and in conflict with Defendant’s

statement that no material facts were in dispute for purposes of the issue before the court. The

court scheduled a second case management conference for September 2, 2015, to discuss

Defendant’s Statement of Intent and proposed Stipulated Agreement. During the case

management conference, the parties agreed to a briefing schedule.

Defendant filed its Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Motion) on August 20, 2015.

The parties filed Stipulated Facts on September 1, 2015. Plaintiffs filed a partial response to

Defendant’s discovery requests on September 3, 2015. Plaintiffs filed an Objection to Partial

Summary Judgment (Response) on September 23, 2015. Defendant filed a Reply to Response

(Reply) on October 2, 2015. Defendant’s Motion is now ready for the court’s determination.

A. Statement of Facts

In its filings with the court, Defendant identified the following undisputed facts:

“Defendant does not dispute the fact that Plaintiff was an Active Duty Servicemember during the

years at issue, 2010 through 2012.” (Def’s Mot to Compel Discovery at 1, Aug 17, 2015.)

Based on the documents provided by Plaintiffs in partial response to Defendant’s document

requests, Defendant agrees that Colonel Waite maintained an Alaska driver’s license and voter

ORDER TC-MD 150362N 2 registration continuously since 1997. (Def’s Acknowledgement of Service, at 3.)

The parties filed the following Stipulated Facts:

 “Col. Curtis Waite served eight years on Title 10 active duty status with the U.S. Air Force where he served in Utah and Alaska[.]”

 “Col. Curtis Waite’s initial active duty tour at Kingsley Field was for 1826 days [5 years][.]”

 “Col. Curtis Waite had successive active duty tours at Kingsley Field until his fall 20123 retirement from the U.S. military[.]”

 “Col. Curtis Waite continues to live in Oregon after his military retirement[.]”

 “Col. Curtis Waite has filed annual extensions with the Department of the Air Force since retiring, to retain his travel and transportation entitlements regarding the movement from Oregon of his personal property and household goods[.]”

 “The ‘two digit postal abbreviation for the state the member elected’ on box#44 of DFAS Form 702 is ‘AK’ [Alaska][.]”

 “The ‘Address on Record’ on box# 52 of DFAS Form 702 is ‘97603’ * * * [.]”

 “Col. Curtis Waite initially acquired his Oregon Driver’s License on 08/19/2013.”

Plaintiffs’ partial response to Defendant’s document requests provided the following

facts: On their 2010 and 2011 federal income tax returns, Plaintiffs provided a home address in

Klamath Falls, Oregon. (Discovery Request 1 at 1, 51.) Colonel Waite’s military orders dated

August 24, 2011, identify his duty as “Active Guard Reserve Continuation Tour (Title 32).”

(Discovery Request 21, 23 at 1.) The “Itinerary” for October 1, 2011, to June 30, 2013, lists

addresses in Klamath Falls, Oregon, including Plaintiffs’ home address. (Id.) Colonel Waite’s

U.S. Air Force occupation was identified as “Colonel” from April 2010 to July 2012.” (Id. at 5.)

B. Issue

Defendant moves this court for partial summary judgment that section 571 of the SCRA

does “not pre-empt Oregon law governing state income taxation of servicemembers domiciled in

ORDER TC-MD 150362N 3 the state while being stationed here on military assignment, and that a servicemember may

become domiciled in Oregon under ORS 316.027 based on the member’s objective intent.”

(Def’s Mot at 1.) It is unclear if Plaintiffs assert that the SCRA preempts Oregon domicile law;

Plaintiffs did not use the term “preempt” in their response to Defendant’s Motion. Plaintiffs

argue that the SCRA “modifies domicile analysis for servicemembers and their spouses for

purposes of taxation, to differ from non-military persons.” (Ptfs’ Resp at 2.)

The court will address the following issues for the 2010 and 2011 tax years: (1) whether

the SCRA preempts Oregon domicile law for state income tax purposes, or otherwise prevents an

active duty servicemember stationed in Oregon from acquiring an Oregon domicile; and (2)

whether, as Plaintiffs contend, the SCRA modifies the Oregon domicile analysis for state income

tax purposes as applied to active duty servicemembers stationed in Oregon.

C. Analysis

1. Relevant provisions of the SCRA

“The SCRA was originally enacted in October 1940 as the Soldiers and Sailors Civil

Relief Act (SSCRA) * * *.” Palandech v. Dept. of Rev., TC-MD 100015C, WL 1045641 at *3

(Mar 23, 2011). In 2003, the SSCRA was amended and recodified as the SCRA. Pub L 108-

189, 117 Stat 2835 (2003). In 2009, the SCRA was amended by the Military Spouses Residency

Relief Act (MSRRA), the purpose of which was to “amend the [SCRA] to guarantee the equity

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