(A) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, any Taxpayer that recklessly violates any division of this ordinance or Chapter 718 of the Ohio Revised Code shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree and shall be subject to a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or imprisonment for a term of up to six months, or both.
(B) Each instance of access or disclosure in violation of this ordinance or Chapter 718 of the Ohio Revised Code constitutes a separate offense.
(C) These specific penalties shall not be construed to prevent the Village from prosecuting any and all other offenses that may apply.
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES
(D) In addition to any other penalty imposed herein or by Chapter 5703 of the Revised Code, the following penalties shall apply:
(1) If a taxpayer required to file a tax return under this ordinance or Chapter 718 of the Revised Code fails to make and file the return within the time prescribed, including extensions of time granted by the tax commissioner, the commissioner may impose a penalty not exceeding twenty-five dollars per month or fraction of a month, for each month or fraction of a month elapsing between the due date, including extensions of the due date, and the date on which the return is filed. The aggregate penalty, per instance, under this division shall not exceed one hundred fifty dollars.
(2) If a person required to file a tax return electronically under this ordinance fails to do so, the commissioner may impose a penalty not to exceed the following:
(a) For each of the first two failures, five percent of the amount required to be reported in the return;
(b) For the third and any subsequent failure, ten percent of the amount required to be reported on the return.
(3) If the taxpayer that has made the election allowed under this ordinance fails to timely pay an amount of tax required to be paid under this chapter or Chapter 718 of the Revised Code, the commissioner may impose a penalty equal to fifteen percent of the amount not timely paid.
(4) If a taxpayer files what purports to be a tax return required by this ordinance or Chapter 718 of the Revised ode that does not contain information upon which the substantial correctness of the return may be judged or contains information that on its face indicates that the return is substantially incorrect, and the filing of the return in that manner is due to a position that is frivolous or a desire that is apparent from the return to delay or impede the administration of this ordinance or Chapter 718 of the Revised Code, a penalty ofup to five hundred dollars may be imposed.
(5) If a taxpayer makes a fraudulent attempt to evade the reporting or payment of the tax required to be shown on any return required under this ordinance or Chapter 718 of the Revised Code, a penalty may be imposed not exceeding the greater one thousand dollars or one hundred percent of the tax required to be shown on the return.
(6) If any person makes a false or fraudulent claim for a refund under this ordinance of Chapter 718 of the Revised Code, a penalty may be imposed not exceeding the greater of one thousand dollars or one hundred percent of the claim. Any penalty imposed under this division, any refund issued on the claim, and interest on any refund from the date of the refund, may be assessed as allowed by this Ordinance or by law, without regard to any time limitation for the assessment imposed by division (A) of that section.
(E) For purposes of this section, the tax required to be shown on a tax return shall be reduced by the amount of any part of the tax paid on or before the date, including any extensions of the date, prescribed for filing the return.
(F) Each penalty imposed under this section shall be in addition to any other penalty imposed under this section. All or part of any penalty imposed under this section may be abated by the tax commissioner. The commissioner may adopt rules governing the imposition and abatement of such penalties.
(G) All amounts collected under this section shall be considered as taxes collected under this ordinance and shall be credited and distributed to municipal corporations in the same proportion as the underlying tax liability is required to be distributed to such municipal corporations under section 718.83 of the Revised Code.
ASSESSMENTS AGAINST TAXPAYER
(H) If any taxpayer required to file a return under this ordinance or Chapter 718 of the Revised Code fails to file the return within the time prescribed, files an incorrect return, or fails to remit the full amount of the tax due for the period covered by the return, the tax commissioner may make an assessment against the taxpayer for any deficiency for the period for which the return or tax is due, based upon any information in the commissioner's possession.
The tax commissioner shall not make an assessment against a taxpayer more than three years after the later of the date the return subject to assessment was required to be filed or the date the return was filed. Such time limit may be extended if both the taxpayer and the commissioner consent in writing to the extension. Any such extension shall extend the three year time limit herein for the same period of time. There shall be no bar or limit to an assessment against a taxpayer that fails to file a return subject to assessment as required herein, or that files a fraudulent return. The commissioner shall give the taxpayer assessed written notice of the assessment as provided in section 5703.37 of the Revised Code. With the notice, the commissioner shall provide instructions on how to petition for reassessment and request a hearing in the petition.
(I) Unless the taxpayer assessed the files with the tax commissioner within sixty days after service of the notice of assessment, either personally or by certified mail, a written petition for reassessment signed by the authorized agent of the taxpayer assessed having knowledge of the facts, the assessment becomes final, and the amount of the assessment is due and payable from the taxpayer to the treasurer of state. The petition shall indicate the taxpayer's objections, but additional objections may be raised in writing if received by the commissioner prior to the date shown on the final determination. If the petition has been properly filed, the commissioner shall proceed under section 5703.60 of the Revised Code.
(J) After an assessment becomes final, if any po1tion of the assessment remains unpaid, including accrued interest, a certified copy of the tax commissioner's entry making the assessment final may be filed in the office of the clerk of the court of common pleas in the county in which the taxpayer has an office or place of business in this state, the county in which the taxpayer's statutory agent is located, or Franklin county.
Immediately upon the filing of the entry, the clerk shall enter a judgment against the taxpayer assessed in the amount shown on the entry. The judgment may be filed by the clerk in a loose leaf book entitled "special judgments for municipal income taxes," and shall have the same effect as other judgments. Execution shall issue upon the judgment upon the request of the tax
commissioner, and all laws applicable to sales on execution shall apply to sales made under the judgment.
If the assessment is not paid in its entirety within sixty days after the day the assessment was issued, the portion of the assessment consisting of tax due shall bear interest at the rate per annum prescribed by section 5703.47 of the Revised Code form the day the commissioner issues the assessment until the assessment is paid or until it is certified to the attorney general for collection under section 131.02 of the Revised Code, whichever comes first. If the unpaid portion of the assessment is certified to the attorney general for collection, the entire unpaid portion of the assessment shall bear interest at the rate per annum prescribed by section 5703.47 of the Revised Code from the date of certification until the date it is paid in its entirety. Interest shall be paid in the same manner as the tax and may be collected by issuing an assessment under this section.
(K) All money collected under this section shall be credited to the municipal income tax fund and distributed to the municipal corporation to which the money is owed based on the assessment issued under this section.
(L) If the tax commissioner believes that collection of the tax will be jeopardized unless proceedings to collect or secure collection of the tax are instituted without delay, the commissioner may issue a jeopardy assessment against the taxpayer liable for the tax. Immediately upon the issuance of the jeopardy assessment, the commissioner shall file an entry with the clerk of the comt of common pleas in the manner prescribed by division (C) of this section. Notice of the jeopardy assessment shall be served upon the taxpayer assessed or the taxpayer's legal representative in the manner provided in section 5703.37 of the Revised Code within five days of filing of the entry with the clerk. The total amount assessed is immediately due and payable, unless the taxpayer assessed files a petition for reassessment in accordance with division (B) of this section and provides security in a form satisfactory to the commissioner and in an amount sufficient to satisfy the unpaid balance of the assessment. Full or partial payment of the assessment does not prejudice the commissioner's consideration of the petition for reassessment.
(M) Notwithstanding the fact that a petition for reassessment is pending, the taxpayer may pay all or portion of the assessment that is the subject of the petition. The acceptance of a payment by the treasurer of state dies not prejudice any claim for refund upon final determination of the petition.
If upon final determination of the petition an error in the assessment is corrected by the tax commissioner, upon petition filed or pursuant to a decision of the board of tax appeals or any court to which the determination or decision has been appealed, so that the amount due from the taxpayer, its assigns, or legal representative a refund in the amount of the overpayment as provided by this ordinance, with interest on that amount as provided by that section.
(Ord. 2023-10. Passed 12-18-23.)