34 Tex. Admin. Code § 3.10 - Taxpayer Bill of Rights
(a) Purposes.
(1) Various state and federal laws that
govern the comptroller's and taxpayers' responsibilities concerning the
collection and payment of taxes and fees are addressed in other sections of
this title. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights seeks to strike a balance and find ways
to protect taxpayers' rights without interfering with the comptroller's
responsibility to collect taxes and assess the accuracy of returns.
(2) The comptroller is legally required to
establish a "Compact with Texans," which provides taxpayers with information
about how customer service will be performed and monitored. This section
explains the comptroller's customer service responsibilities and commitments to
ensure that taxpayers receive the treatment and service to which they are
entitled.
(b) Taxpayers
are entitled to useful resources and prompt and accurate information that is
provided in a professional manner.
(1) The
comptroller's website, Window on State Government, will contain information
that is well-organized and useful to help taxpayers locate answers to their
questions. Taxpayers can also elect to receive email updates relating to agency
policies and practices through Window on State Government.
(2) Comptroller staff will respond promptly
to requests for information whether in person, by phone, or in
writing.
(3) The comptroller will
seek feedback from taxpayers to ensure that they are receiving prompt and
accurate responses to requests for information and that agency staff performs
in a courteous and professional manner.
(4) The comptroller will write rules,
publications, forms, and information on the agency's website in plain English
and will promptly update information to reflect changes in laws and agency
policy. Upon request, the comptroller will make agency publications available
in different formats to meet taxpayers' needs.
(5) The comptroller will maintain the State
Tax Automated Research (STAR) system on the comptroller's website to provide
taxpayers with an additional source of information. All private letter rulings,
including information about rulings that have been revoked or modified, issued
in accordance with §
3.1 of this title (relating to
Private Letter Rulings and General Information Letters) will be maintained on
STAR.
(c) Detrimental
reliance policy. The comptroller will give relief to a taxpayer who follows
erroneous advice given to the taxpayer by an agency employee. The taxpayer,
however, must have provided complete and accurate information to the agency
employee. The comptroller will give relief only if that taxpayer, and not a
third party, was harmed by following the erroneous advice. See also §
3.1 of this title.
(1) Unless otherwise provided by this
section, a taxpayer must affirmatively prove and provide records as requested
by the comptroller to show that it meets all four parts of the following test:
(A) the substance of the information or
advice and its direct communication to the taxpayer must be in writing in
accordance with §
3.1 of this title;
(B) the taxpayer followed the information or
advice;
(C) the taxpayer gave
sufficient information to have resulted in correct advice and did not
misrepresent information or withhold or conceal information that would affect
the advice; and
(D) the taxpayer
has suffered, or will suffer, harm based on the erroneous advice unless the
comptroller provides relief to the taxpayer.
(2) Sales and use taxes under Tax Code,
Chapter 151. Both sellers and purchasers of taxable items can receive relief
based on detrimental reliance. Sellers of taxable items may receive waivers of
tax, penalty, and/or interest. The following additional guidelines will be used
when a taxpayer has proven detrimental reliance related to the purchase of
taxable items, provided the taxpayer meets the first three parts of the test
stated in paragraph (1)(A) - (C) of this subsection and provided records as
requested by the comptroller:
(A) all
penalties and interest will be waived;
(B) tax will be waived on materials directly
utilized and consumed in the performance of a service for, or sale of a product
to, an unrelated third party;
(C)
tax can only be waived for indirect materials or services when the taxpayer can
prove that these items were used in computing prices or bids;
(D) tax on assets or tools directly used in
the performance of services or sales may be partially exempted based upon their
purchase dates and remaining life of the assets. This presumes that prices can
be increased on future sales. A taxpayer with a long term contract or fixed bid
can substantiate a larger waiver. For the purposes of computing the remaining
life and value of an asset, the comptroller will use a 48 month useful life and
straight line depreciation. The taxpayer cannot use other methods of valuation;
and
(E) special consideration for
waiver will be made if a taxpayer can prove that the advice was used in a
decision to locate facilities in Texas.
(3) The following persons shall receive
waivers of a tax, charge or fee that was not collected, plus penalty, and/or
interest, if all elements of detrimental reliance are proven as indicated by
paragraph (1) of this subsection and documents are made available to the
comptroller to verify such a claim:
(A)
persons who must collect and remit the fee on the sale of batteries under
Health and Safety Code,§361.138;
(B) persons who must collect and remit the
emergency service fee under Health and Safety Code, §
771.071;
(C) persons who must collect and remit the
emergency service fee for wireless telecommunications under Health and Safety
Code, §
771.0711;
(D) retail sellers of prepaid 9-1-1 emergency
service fee under Health and Safety Code, §
771.0712;
(E) persons who must collect and remit the
equalization surcharge under Health and Safety Code, §
771.072;
(F) surplus lines licensees who must collect
premium taxes from policyholders to remit to the state under Insurance Code,
Chapter 225;
(G) persons who must
collect and remit the Texas emissions reduction plan surcharge under Tax Code,
§
151.0515 or §
152.0215;
(H) persons who sell or rent motor vehicles
and who must collect and remit taxes under Tax Code, Chapter 152;
(I) persons who must collect and remit hotel
occupancy taxes under Tax Code, Chapter 156;
(J) persons who sell boats and boat motors
who must collect and remit taxes under Tax Code, Chapter 160;
(K) persons who must collect and remit the
fireworks tax under Tax Code, Chapter 161; and
(L) persons who must collect and remit the
fee on delivery of certain petroleum products under Water Code, §
26.3574.
(4) Taxes, fees, and charges other
than those identified in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection. If a
taxpayer proves detrimental reliance in relation to the taxes, fees, and
charges administered by the comptroller other than those identified in
paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection, the comptroller will only consider
granting a waiver of penalty and/or interest for the period(s) covered by the
report, audit, or assessment.
(d) The customer service liaison.
(1) The comptroller employs a customer
service liaison to handle taxpayer complaints. The customer service liaison has
the authority to determine if the complaint is valid and to work with staff to
reach a resolution that is satisfactory to both the taxpayer and the agency.
Certain matters are not within the authority of the customer service liaison to
address, including disputes about the meaning of agency rules, disputes about
taxability issues that are pending in the administrative hearings process or
complaints about the law itself.
(2) Contact information for the customer
service liaison will be prominently displayed on comptroller materials,
including on the agency's website and webpage devoted to the Compact with
Texans, and in telephone directories statewide.
(3) If taxpayers approach the Governor's
Citizens Assistance Office with disagreements with or about employees,
operations, or services at the comptroller's office, the customer service
liaison will be notified and will take appropriate action.
(4) The customer service liaison is required
by law to submit a biennial report to the legislature to track systemic
problems and identify areas that can be improved.
(5) Complaints and concerns submitted to the
customer service liaison will receive a response within 10 working
days.
(e) The
comptroller helps taxpayers comply with the law and protect their rights.
(1) Taxpayers who are not currently under
audit or investigation and who come forward voluntarily to disclose their
liability and pay taxes due may be eligible to have penalties and interest
waived by entering into a Voluntary Disclosure Agreement. General information
about these agreements is available on the comptroller's website.
(2) Information provided by taxpayers will be
kept confidential to the extent allowed by law.
(3) Taxpayers may bring an attorney,
accountant, or other representative to an audit conference and may also record
the proceedings.
(4) Taxpayers may
request a review of audit results by an independent audit reviewer and
proceedings related to the review may occur at locations in Texas close to a
taxpayer's primary place of business.
(5) Taxpayers have the right to request that
staff from the Tax Policy Division be included in disputes and discussions
about taxability issues when taxpayers are involved in an audit examination of
any kind, or negotiating a voluntary disclosure agreement.
(6) The comptroller will not audit a person
based on information provided in a request for a private letter ruling or
general information letter under §
3.1 of this title. However, if a
person is otherwise selected for audit, the comptroller may review any letter
or ruling received by that person to ensure compliance. Also, issuance of a
letter or ruling does not prohibit the comptroller from auditing a
person.
(f) The
comptroller welcomes input from taxpayers and the business community in order
to promote voluntary compliance.
(1) The
comptroller welcomes suggestions from taxpayers on ways to improve the
information and customer service the agency provides. Such suggestions can be
submitted to the customer service liaison. See subsection (d) of this
section.
(2) The comptroller will
invite representatives and interested parties to participate in roundtable
discussions on specific issues, or to learn about the needs and problems of a
particular industry. The comptroller will review recommendations from these
meetings internally, and will incorporate them into rules and procedures as
appropriate. The comptroller will also consider comments and questions received
from businesses, industry representatives, and others when developing rules and
procedures. The comptroller circulates proposed amendments to existing rules
and proposed new rules to a comptroller-appointed taxpayer advisory group to
obtain their comments prior to filing with the Texas Register.
Notes
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