1 What we are: An independent Board of three individuals appointed - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

2014 Maine Tax Forum

Maine Board of Tax Appeals

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What we are:

• An independent Board of three individuals

appointed by the Governor to resolve controversies between Taxpayers and Maine Revenue Services (MRS).

• Supported by the Appeals Office, which holds

hearings, evaluates evidence, and prepares recommended decisions.

• Final decisions made by the Board members.

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Board Members William J. Kelleher - Chair Edwin A. Heisler Richard A. Nass

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To contact us:

• Office located at 108 Sewall Street in Augusta (opposite the

Cross Office Building)

• Mailing Address:

Maine Board of Tax Appeals 134 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333-0134 (use 108 Sewall Street for couriers such as FedEx or UPS.)

• Telephone: 207-287-2864
• Website: http://www.maine.gov/boardoftaxappeals

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Appeals Office Staff

Chief Appeals Officer – Robert Creamer Appeals Officers – Paul Bourget Gerard Poissonnier Administrative Assistant – Lisa Stevens

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Appeals Process

• Taxpayers can appeal “reconsidered decisions”

issued by MRS, with at least $1,000 at issue.

• Board considers appeals de novo.
• See Rule 100 - Maine Board of Tax Appeals

Rules of Practice and Procedure.

• Taxpayer’s Guide on our website:

http://www.maine.gov/boardoftaxappeals

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Appeal Process (continued)

• Appeal is assigned to an Appeals Officer (AO).
• AO and parties hold a case management

conference.

• Parties then submit written arguments and

evidence per schedule established by AO.

• If requested in a timely manner, AO will hold

an appeal conference.

• AO will draft a recommended decision.

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Appeal Process (continued)

• Parties given a chance to review and comment
• n recommended decision.
• AO may revise in light of comments.
• Parties can:

– Submit short written statements directly to Board members; and – Request to address Board members in person.

• Board will meet to render a final decision.

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New Procedures

• Submitting information to the AO:

– New schedule and page limits.

• Addressing the Board at its meeting:

– New deadlines for written statements and requests to speak. – New meeting procedure.

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Why appeal to the Board?

• Not enough money involved for Superior

Court, but taxpayer wants an independent review.

• Substantial amount of money involved, but

Board’s independent review may avoid the need to go to court.

• Another chance to work with MRS to possibly

settle.

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Why appeal to the Board?

• Appeals are usually decided in about five

months.

• Taxpayers do not need to be represented by

an attorney.

• Other than the $100 fee for an appeals

conference, there are no charges.

• Board proceedings are closed to the public.

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Board History

• Forty six cases filed so far.
• Amount at issue has ranged from just over

$1,000 to $1.2 million.

• Taxpayers have included both individuals and

large corporations.

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Resolution/Status of Appeals

• 14 have been resolved by a Board decision.
• 24 have settled.
• 8 are still pending.

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Sales and Use Taxes

• 17 appeals have been from sales/use tax

assessments.

• Issues within sales and use tax:

– Use of the corporate form. – Responsible individual (36 M.R.S. § 177). – Collection on rental of living quarters. – Interim rentals of equipment and vehicles. – Confusion on sales v. use tax for rentals. – Application of exemptions.

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Individual Income Tax

• 16 cases have involved individual income tax.
• Topics include:

– Failure to file. – Pass-through entities. – Taxes paid to another state. – Domicile.

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Corporate Income Tax

• Six appeals have concerned corporate income

tax.

• Issues involved include:

– Nexus. – Classification of business entity (corporation v. financial institution). – Unitary business.

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Service Provider Tax

• Three appeals have been about service

provider tax.

• All three involved telecommunications:

– Two were concerned with whether services were interstate and thus exempt. – The third hinged on whether certain services were part of the installation of telecommunications equipment.

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Service Provider Tax

• There is not a lot of guidance out there on the

SPT.

• Maine courts have never issued a ruling on

this tax.

• Best sources of information are MRS’s Sales

Tax Bulletins 55 and 56.

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Estate Tax

• Three appeals have been in area of estate tax.
• Two have settled.
• The third was appealed to Superior Court,

which recently issued a decision.

• Issue was how to calculate the Maine taxable

estate for non-residents, under previous statute.

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Abandoned Deposits

• One case on abandoned deposits for

redeemable bottles.

• These amounts are treated as a tax.
• Controlled by 32 M.R.S. § 1866-E.
• Deposits to be kept in a separate account and

monthly returns filed with MRS.

• Each violation of § 1866-E is subject to a $100

penalty.

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Further Appeals

• Four Board decisions have been appealed to

Superior Court.

• Three are still in court proceedings.
• Ruling in State Tax Assessor v. Estate of C.G.

Berwind, et. al. was issued on 7 July 2014.

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For any questions:

Robert Creamer Chief Appeals Officer Maine Board of Tax Appeals 207-287-2866 robert.a.creamer@maine.gov

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