SENATE BILL 138

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Jacob R. Candelaria

AN ACT

RELATING TO TAX ADMINISTRATION; EXPANDING THE TYPES OF PROTESTS AT WHICH ENROLLED AGENTS MAY REPRESENT TAXPAYERS IN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS OFFICE HEARINGS; DEFINING "ENROLLED AGENT".

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. Section 7-1B-8 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2015, Chapter 73, Section 8) is amended to read:

     "7-1B-8. TAX PROTESTS--PROCEDURES.--

          A. Upon timely receipt of a tax protest filed [pursuant to the provisions of] in accordance with Section 7-1-24 NMSA 1978, the taxation and revenue department shall promptly acknowledge the protest by letter to the protesting taxpayer or the taxpayer's representative. If the protest is not filed in accordance with [the provisions of Section 7-1-24 NMSA 1978] that section, the department shall inform the taxpayer of the deficiency and the opportunity to correct it. Within forty-five days after receipt of a protest that was filed [pursuant to the provisions of Section 7-1-24 NMSA 1978] in accordance with that section and that has not been resolved, the [taxation and revenue] department shall request from the administrative hearings office a hearing and shall send to the office a copy of the protest. The chief hearing officer shall then promptly designate a hearing officer and shall set a date for a hearing to take place within ninety days after receipt of [a] the protest [filed pursuant to Section 7-1-24 NMSA 1978].

          B. A taxpayer may appear at the hearing on the taxpayer's own behalf or may be represented by a bona fide employee, an attorney, a certified public accountant or [with respect only to tax imposed pursuant to the Income Tax Act, a person who is] an enrolled agent [for federal income tax purposes]. If the taxation and revenue department and the taxpayer agree, the hearing may be conducted via videoconference. At the beginning of the hearing, the hearing officer shall inform the taxpayer of the taxpayer's right to representation. A hearing shall not be open to the public except upon request of the taxpayer. A hearing officer may postpone or continue a hearing at the hearing officer's discretion. As used in this subsection, "enrolled agent" means a federally licensed tax practitioner with unlimited rights to represent taxpayers before the internal revenue service.

          C. Within thirty days after the hearing, the hearing officer shall inform the taxation and revenue department and the taxpayer in writing of the decision and, [pursuant to the provisions of] in accordance with Section 7-1-25 NMSA 1978, of the aggrieved party's right to, and the requirements for perfection of, an appeal from the decision to the court of appeals and of the consequences of a failure to appeal. The written decision shall embody an order granting or denying the relief requested or granting or denying a part of the relief requested, as appropriate.

          D. A taxpayer with two or more protests containing related issues may request that the protests be combined and heard jointly. The hearing officer shall grant the request to combine protests unless it would create an unreasonable burden on the administrative hearings office or the taxation and revenue department.

          E. Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize a criminal proceeding or to authorize an administrative protest of the issuance of a subpoena or summons."

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