Opinion ID: 4575069
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Punitive

Text: ¶ 70. A fine falls within the coverage of the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause if it “constitute[s] punishment.” Bajakajian, 524 U.S. at 328. Just because a fine serves both remedial and punitive purposes does not mean it is exempt from the Eighth Amendment’s protections. Austin v. United States, 509 U.S. 602, 610 (1993). Rather, the inquiry is whether the fine “can only be explained as serving in part to punish.” Id. ¶ 71. In this case, the Department’s penalty undoubtedly constitutes punishment. As we explained in TD Banknorth, N.A. v. Department of Taxes, § 3202 enables “the Commissioner to 27 penalize taxpayers when they have not properly discharged their tax burden” by assessing a penalty based on the outstanding tax liability. 2008 VT 120, ¶ 37, 185 Vt. 45, 967 A.2d 1148 (emphasis added). As such, a penalty assessed pursuant to § 3202 “does not serve the remedial purpose of compensating the Government for a loss.” Bajakajian, 524 U.S. at 329. While § 3203 allows the Commissioner to recover any underpaid taxes, § 3202 allows the Commissioner to assess a penalty in addition to the outstanding tax liability. The purpose of § 3202 is to penalize taxpayers and, in doing so, allows the state to recover an amount in excess of the outstanding tax liability.