Court Opinion

ID: 9551463
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 18:53:59.47724+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:23:55.972805
License: Public Domain

HENDLEY, Judge (specially concurring). I concur in the opinion of the Court. However I do not feel that it says all that needs to be said. With regard to the tax on director’s fees, it should be pointed out that taxpayer did not contend at his hearing that § 72-16A-12.16, N.M.S.A.1953 (Repl. Vol. 10, pt. 2, 1961, Supp.1973), which exempts receipts for the occasional sale of services by one not regularly engaged in the business of selling same, applies to his case. As such, that issue was not before this court, § 72-13-39, N.M.S.A.1953 (Repl. Vol. 10, pt. 2, 1961, Supp.1973). Thus, the majority opinion is limited and should not be construed as deciding the issue pursuant to § 72-16A-12.16, supra. With regard to the tax on the “inheritance”, Mears contended that it was error not only to tax the attorney’s fees and administratrix’ fees but that it was error also to include them in the computation of percentage of error for the purpose of assessing a tax for years during which taxpayer was unable to produce records. The audit covered the period from 1966 through the first four months of 1972. Records were only produced for the years 1968 through 1971. The fees in question, (not director’s fees) amounting to almost $9,000.00, were earned during the year 1968. The Bureau, in computing percentage of error, apparently totaled taxpayer’s reported receipts for the years 1968 through 1971, totaled taxpayer’s unreported receipts for the same years and divided the latter by the former to arrive at a percentage of error of 60% to apply to the years 1966, 1967 and the first four months of 1972. As I do not view this error to be a legal issue, but rather more in the nature of an accounting error, I point out that it is not accurate or fair to use any of the $9,000.00 in fees from the late Mears’ estate in computing percentage of error. These fees were solely earned in 1968 and thus have no application to the years 1966, 1967 or the first four months of 1972. More exactly, the administratrix fees were to taxpayer’s wife and not taxpayer.