Virginia Tax Commissioner Upholds Sales Tax Audit, Assessment on Electrical Contractor, Denies Penalty Waiver

The Virginia Tax Commissioner Aug. 24 determined in a letter ruling that Taxpayer was liable for penalties and interest on its retail sales and use tax assessment. Upon an audit, the Department of Revenue found that Taxpayer, an electrical contractor, didn’t pay taxes on various transactions and issued an assessment for the unpaid tax, penalty, and interest under a second generation audit. Taxpayer disputed the audit methodology and requested a waiver of the assessed penalty. The commissioner noted: 1) merely listing transactions from an infrequent vendor with which Taxpayer didn’t normally transact wasn’t an adequate ground for excluding the transactions ...