The following is my communication in my case with the VA Dept. of Taxation (DoT):
I will start be reacquainting you with my case. In the Summer of 2002, I was garnished for a over $3,000 for the tax year 1994. The amount assessed and garnished was computed with the assumption that no state taxes were withheld throughout the year for the only time in my life and in my history as a wage earner in the state of VA. Additionally, this assessment assumed that 1994 would have been the only year that I ever owed more taxes than what was withheld, but also the only time that I was not due a refund.
My initial efforts to resolve this matter and to get my money back that the state stole without due process or rational logic were met with rude and programmed responses that always ended with "you need to pay your taxes". I explained then that I have paid my taxes and it is nothing short of theft to take those monies from me a second time. I was told the burden of proof was on me, even though the garnishment was beyond the period that employers are required to those records, beyond the period that the DoT recommends that individuals maintain such records, beyond the period that the IRS maintained the hard copies and beyond the data collected and maintained by the Social Security Administration.
So after fruitless efforts to locate copies of my W-2 for 1994, I contacted state legislators. With the following letter:
[LETTER #1]
In a matter of days, you contacted me and seemed genuinely interested in resolving this. You said you would look at my tax paying history to verify that I have always had state taxes withheld by my employer and once your research was complete that I should receive a check. However, instead of check you sent the following letter to me on April 16, 2003:
In your own words, I have complied with every other notice or lien with regard to any other tax year. In fact, I have hired a professional accountant over last several years to try to figure out what you do and do not have. In all cases, I have had state withholdings exceeding my tax liability. Yet, you insist to assess me for 1994 as though that was the one time in my life that no state taxes were withheld and overpaid. The frosting on the cake is that you even acknowledge that even the IRS will not have what I need to prove my argument.
In 1992, I was a full-time college student at VCU until graduating that August. I was transferred to Feyetteville, NC in December 1994 and was licensed, insured and everything else imaginable as a NC resident through September 1995. While living in NC, I completed my fed and VA state taxes for 1994 electronically using the same software suite.
[rant about effects]
I can find nothing in Constitution, US Code or VA Code that justifies the DoT suspending my rights. This isn't a tax assessment; it is a theft. I am not a lawyer and I suspect our state tax actions are immune to any statute of limitations, but we all know a jury of my peers would see this evidence and call this an abuse.
[rant about logic]
Additionally, how can you conscionably tell me that I have to prove my case when your action was taken beyond the time that your dept tells people on it's website to retain their tax records. In fact, you even acknowledge the IRS doesn't even have the information. Employers aren't required to maintain the records for the duration that I would have needed to be able to dispute your assessment.
Ms. Forehand, I realize that you do not make the rules. But by your letter to me, it is clear that you had room for judgment. If I or my accountant had received the letters that you described in reference to 1994 taxes, does it make sense that we would have dealt with the other years you admitted but not 1994?
I am asking you to reevaluate this. I am also sending this letter to persons of influence in the state of VA because there is no telling how many people have paid their share of taxes twice. If this cannot be resolved through your channels, then it will be my life's ambition to see your dept reformed to respect the Constitution and the rights of the taxpayers. The actions of your dept has caused great harm to me and my family and that is not the purpose of government. I paid my taxes for 1994 in 1994 just as I have in every other year. What you assessed and garnished was stealing. Maybe our laws need to reconcile that the burden of proof should be on you to prove those taxes were not withheld since your dept seems unrestricted in the number of years you can go back.
I will conclude with a quote from the FAQ section of your website:
How long am I required to keep my state tax returns?
The following is the response from VA's Tax Commissioner:
I will start be reacquainting you with my case. In the Summer of 2002, I was garnished for a over $3,000 for the tax year 1994. The amount assessed and garnished was computed with the assumption that no state taxes were withheld throughout the year for the only time in my life and in my history as a wage earner in the state of VA. Additionally, this assessment assumed that 1994 would have been the only year that I ever owed more taxes than what was withheld, but also the only time that I was not due a refund.
My initial efforts to resolve this matter and to get my money back that the state stole without due process or rational logic were met with rude and programmed responses that always ended with "you need to pay your taxes". I explained then that I have paid my taxes and it is nothing short of theft to take those monies from me a second time. I was told the burden of proof was on me, even though the garnishment was beyond the period that employers are required to those records, beyond the period that the DoT recommends that individuals maintain such records, beyond the period that the IRS maintained the hard copies and beyond the data collected and maintained by the Social Security Administration.
So after fruitless efforts to locate copies of my W-2 for 1994, I contacted state legislators. With the following letter:
[LETTER #1]
In a matter of days, you contacted me and seemed genuinely interested in resolving this. You said you would look at my tax paying history to verify that I have always had state taxes withheld by my employer and once your research was complete that I should receive a check. However, instead of check you sent the following letter to me on April 16, 2003:
This is in response to our phone conversation yesterday, April 15, 2003 concerning your 1994 VA income tax assessment.
When I spoke with you, you told me that you had filed VA income tax returns for 1992 and 1993 and that your place of employment was Gilbert Robinson, Incorporated. I told you that we would take those years that followed and make a determination on whether you owed. In researching our files I was unable to find returns for 1992, 1993, 1995 and 1996, therefore the assessment for 1994 must remain as assessed and paid. If you can provide us with a copy of your Wage and Earnings Statement or the information on letterhead, we can adjust the bill or abate it entirely. I must reiterate, that the Internal Revenue Service will not have what you need for 1994.
[2 yr. limit to contest]
The dept made every effort to give you an opportunity to pay your 1994 bill or to make arrangements to pay. We sent a letter informing you that an assessment would be made for 1994, unless you provided us with the correct information. We mailed consolidated bill statements. We mailed letters informing you that your refunds for 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 were going to be applied to 1994. We issued two liens at your place of employment, your account was assigned to a collection agency, and on April 10, 2001, we sent you a letter requesting a return for 1998, you filed that return and subsequent returns.
[Contact information]
In your own words, I have complied with every other notice or lien with regard to any other tax year. In fact, I have hired a professional accountant over last several years to try to figure out what you do and do not have. In all cases, I have had state withholdings exceeding my tax liability. Yet, you insist to assess me for 1994 as though that was the one time in my life that no state taxes were withheld and overpaid. The frosting on the cake is that you even acknowledge that even the IRS will not have what I need to prove my argument.
In 1992, I was a full-time college student at VCU until graduating that August. I was transferred to Feyetteville, NC in December 1994 and was licensed, insured and everything else imaginable as a NC resident through September 1995. While living in NC, I completed my fed and VA state taxes for 1994 electronically using the same software suite.
[rant about effects]
I can find nothing in Constitution, US Code or VA Code that justifies the DoT suspending my rights. This isn't a tax assessment; it is a theft. I am not a lawyer and I suspect our state tax actions are immune to any statute of limitations, but we all know a jury of my peers would see this evidence and call this an abuse.
[rant about logic]
Additionally, how can you conscionably tell me that I have to prove my case when your action was taken beyond the time that your dept tells people on it's website to retain their tax records. In fact, you even acknowledge the IRS doesn't even have the information. Employers aren't required to maintain the records for the duration that I would have needed to be able to dispute your assessment.
Ms. Forehand, I realize that you do not make the rules. But by your letter to me, it is clear that you had room for judgment. If I or my accountant had received the letters that you described in reference to 1994 taxes, does it make sense that we would have dealt with the other years you admitted but not 1994?
I am asking you to reevaluate this. I am also sending this letter to persons of influence in the state of VA because there is no telling how many people have paid their share of taxes twice. If this cannot be resolved through your channels, then it will be my life's ambition to see your dept reformed to respect the Constitution and the rights of the taxpayers. The actions of your dept has caused great harm to me and my family and that is not the purpose of government. I paid my taxes for 1994 in 1994 just as I have in every other year. What you assessed and garnished was stealing. Maybe our laws need to reconcile that the burden of proof should be on you to prove those taxes were not withheld since your dept seems unrestricted in the number of years you can go back.
I will conclude with a quote from the FAQ section of your website:
How long am I required to keep my state tax returns?
You should keep your tax records for at least 3 years from the due date of the return or the date the return was filed, whichever is later. If the IRS requires you to keep your fed records for a longer period, keep your state records for the same period of time.
The following is the response from VA's Tax Commissioner:
He clearly didn't read anything I had written. Also note that in making "every effort" they didn't bother checking the employer filings for that year. I need help....
In attempting to resolve income tax liabilities when no W-2 information is available, the Dept makes every effort to determine whether any VA income tax was withheld from an individual's wages. In the ansence of documentation, we can usually make a determination based on returns filed for the taxable years before and after the year for which the assessment has been issued. As explained, in Mrs. Forehand's letter of April 16, 2003, we were not able to make an estimate of your 1994 VA withholdings because our records did not reflect receipt of VA income tax returns for 1992, 1993, 1995 and 1996. As a result, we find no basis for reducing your 1994 assessment.
Our records show that the assessment was paid in full on March 20, 2003.