On appeal, this court reviews the decision of the Commissioner s representative, not the decision of the reemployment insurance judge. We must defer to the commissioner s findings of fact so long as the evidence reasonably supports them, but we exercise independent judgment and authority over questions of law. S tatutory construction and interpretation presents a question of law, which this court reviews de novo. Dep t of Human Servs . Co. v. Northwestern Bell Tel.
Courts interpret statutes to ascertain and effectuate legislative intent.
We presume plain and unambiguous statutory language manifests legislative intent. When a statute is free of ambiguity, we look only at its plain language. Tuma v. Commissioner of Econ. The obligation to pay taxes is a purely statutory creation, and taxes can be levied, assessed, and collected only in the method expressly established by statute. To calculate the tax rate of an employer qualifying for an experience rating, the commissioner is required to add the minimum tax rate to the employer s experience rating.