Was Tax Commissioner’s Denial of Late-Filing Penalty Abatement an Abuse of Discretion?
J.M. Smucker LLC v. J. Patrick McAndrew [William W. Wilkins], Tax Commissioner, Case no. 2006-0355 State Board of Tax Appeals ISSUE: Did the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) err in affirming a ruling in which the tax commissioner denied a request by a corporate taxpayer seeking abatement of statutory penalties for the company’s late filing of personal property tax returns for two years? BACKGROUND: This case involves the tax returns of a new limited liability company (LLC) that was formed by the owners of Ohio-based J.M. Smucker Company in 2002 to assume ownership of Smucker’s own existing manufacturing assets and of new assets Smuckers purchased from Procter & Gamble. The purchased assets were those used by P&G in manufacturing Crisco cooking oil and shortening and Jif peanut butter. Under Ohio tax statutes, the LLC was required to file a “new taxpayer” personal property tax return for the 2002 tax year within 90 days after its May 1, 2002, start-up date; and (after obtaining an extension)
