California Code of Regulations › Title 18 - Public Revenues › Division 4.1 - Office of Tax Appeals' Rules for Tax Appeals › Chapter 4 - Briefing Schedules and Procedures › Article 2 - General Briefing Schedule for Innocent Spouse Appeals › Section 30312 - Special Rules and Procedures

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) Consolidation. If both spouses submit
				  timely appeals, then their appeals will be consolidated for briefing, hearing,
				  and Opinion. Each spouse will be treated as an appealing spouse and will have
				  an equal opportunity to submit briefs.
(b) Rights of non-appealing spouse. If only
				  one spouse submitted a timely appeal, then upon receipt of a perfected appeal
				  from the appealing spouse, OTA will provide a copy of the appealing spouse's
				  perfected opening brief to the non-appealing spouse and notify the
				  non-appealing spouse of his or her right to participate in the
				  appeal.
(c) Contacting a
				  non-appealing spouse. OTA shall use the best information available to OTA to
				  contact the non-appealing spouse.
(d) Jurisdiction. OTA's jurisdiction over an
				  innocent spouse appeal will be determined at the time of filing of the
				  appealing spouse's opening brief and shall remain in effect through the
				  conclusion of the appeal, notwithstanding any Agency withdrawal of a notice or
				  decision. Any subsequent Agency notice or decision issued to a party to the
				  appeal for the years at issue shall stand in place of the original notice or
				  decision.
(e) Affirmative defense.
				  Innocent spouse relief may be raised as an affirmative defense. If a party
				  raises innocent spouse relief as an affirmative defense, OTA will retain
				  jurisdiction over the appeal and defer proceedings pending a determination of
				  the underlying innocent spouse claim by the Agency.
(f) Hearing location. Innocent spouse
				  hearings will be held in accordance with regulation 30401. In the event the
				  parties disagree as to the hearing location, OTA will determine the
				  location.
(g) Separate hearings.
				  Either spouse participating in an innocent spouse appeal may request a separate
				  oral hearing, or to appear remotely, when requesting an oral hearing.
(1) Requests for separate oral hearings.
				  Requests for a separate oral hearing may be made no later than 15 days from the
				  date of the notice of oral hearing. A spouse who wishes to request a separate
				  oral hearing should submit a written request for a separate hearing by the
				  deadline provided by OTA for responding to the notice of oral hearing. Upon
				  receipt of a timely request for a separate oral hearing, OTA will send written
				  acknowledgment of the request to all parties.
(2) Evaluation of a request for separate oral
				  hearings. OTA will evaluate a request for a separate oral hearing based on good
				  cause. For purposes of this subdivision, good cause includes, but is not
				  limited to, any of the following:
(A) A court
				  order would prohibit the spouses from appearing at the same hearing;
				  or
(B) OTA determines that
				  conducting one oral hearing is likely to be unsafe, disruptive, or
				  unjust.
(3) Untimely
				  requests. An untimely request for a separate oral hearing may be accepted by
				  OTA if it determines that the requesting party's failure to make a timely
				  request was due to good cause or that other factors weigh in favor of granting
				  the request.
(4) Deciding the
				  appeal. If a Panel conducts separate oral hearings, the Panel will not decide
				  the appeal until both hearings have concluded.