(a) If any taxpayer required to file a return under R.C. §§ 718.80 to 718.95 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 or issue 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 in R.C. § 718.91 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 by R.C. §§ 718.80 to 718.95, or that files a fraudulent return. The Commissioner shall give the taxpayer assessed written notice of the assessment as provided in R.C. § 5703.37. With the notice, the Commissioner shall provide instructions on how to petition for reassessment and request a hearing on the petition.
(b) Unless the taxpayer assessed 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 R.C. § 5703.60.
(c) After an assessment becomes final, if any portion 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 R.C. § 5703.47 from the day the Commissioner issues the assessment until the assessment is paid or until it is certified to the Attorney General for collection under R.C. § 131.02, 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 R.C. § 5703.47 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.
(d) 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.
(e) 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 court of common pleas in the manner prescribed by division (c) of this section. Notice of the jeopardy assessment shall be served on the taxpayer assessed or the taxpayer's legal representative in the manner provided in R.C. § 5703.37 within five days of the 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.
(f) Notwithstanding the fact that a petition for reassessment is pending, the taxpayer may pay all or a portion of the assessment that is the subject of the petition. The acceptance of a payment by the Treasurer of State does 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 so 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 under the corrected assessment is less than the portion paid, there shall be issued to the taxpayer, its assigns, or legal representative a refund in the amount of the overpayment as provided by R.C. § 718.91, with interest on that amount as provided by that section.
(Ord. O2018-06, passed 3-6-2018)