Lalibla, L.L.C. v. Harris, Tax Commr.

Citations

• 2024 Ohio 5995

Syllabus

Ohio Board of Tax Appeals (\BTA\)'s decision and order affirmed. Appellant failed to maintain complete and accurate sales records required by R.C. 5739.11 and Ohio Adm.Code 5703-9-02. As such, appellant could not verify its claim that the majority of its credit card sales were from nontaxable catering sales; the tax commissioner was entitled to gather information from other sources and estimate the amount of taxes due; and appellant could not produce evidence demonstrating what its actual tax liability should be. The letter from appellant's accountant set forth an alternative method for calculating appellant's sales tax liability, but the letter failed to demonstrate error in the tax commissioner's assessment and the BTA was under no obligation to accept the results from appellant's alternative calculation. The BTA conducted a de novo review of the evidence. We do not find an abuse of discretion in the commissioner's decision to impose or refusal to abate the 50 percent penalty.