48-655 Combined taxes; payments in lieu of contributions; collections; setoffs; interest; actions; offset against federal income tax refund; procedure.
48-655. Combined taxes; payments in lieu ofcontributions; collections; setoffs; interest; actions; offset against federal income tax refund; procedure.(1) Combinedtaxes or payments in lieu of contributions unpaid on the date on which theyare due and payable, as prescribed by the commissioner, shall bear interestat the rate of one and one-half percent per month from such date until payment,plus accrued interest, is received by the commissioner, except that no interestshall be charged subsequent to the date of the erroneous payment of an amountequal to the amount of the delayed payment into the unemployment trust fundof another state or to the federal government. Interest collected pursuantto this section shall be paid in accordance with subdivision (1)(b) of section 48-621. If, after due notice, any employer defaults in any payment of combinedtaxes or payments in lieu of contributions or interest thereon, the amountdue may be collected (a) by civil action in thename of the commissioner and the employer adjudged in default shall pay thecosts of such action or (b) by setoff against anystate income tax refund due the employer pursuant to sections 77-27,197 to 77-27,209. Civil actions brought under this section to collect combined taxesor interest thereon or payments in lieu of contributions or interest thereonfrom an employer shall be heard by the court at the earliest possible dateand shall be entitled to preference upon the calendar of the court over allother civil actions except petitions for judicial review under section 48-638.(2) The commissionermay by rule and regulation provide for the offset from a person's personalfederal income tax refund of contributions, penalties, and interest due andpayable for which the commissioner has determined the person to be liabledue to fraud and which remain uncollected for not more than ten years. Suchrules and regulations shall comply with Public Law 110-328 (2008) and UnitedStates Treasury regulations and guidelines adopted pursuant thereto. The commissionershall notify the debtor, by certified mail return receipt requested, thatthe commissioner plans to recover the debt through offset against any federalincome tax refund, and the debtor shall be given sixty days to present evidencethat all or part of the liability is either not legally enforceable or notdue to fraud. The commissioner shall review any evidence presented and determinethat the debt is legally enforceable and due to fraud before proceeding furtherwith the offset. The amount recovered, less any administrative fees chargedby the United States Treasury, shall be credited to the debt owed. Any determinationrendered under this subsection that the person's federal income tax refundis not subject to offset does not require the commissioner to amend the commissioner'sinitial determination that formed the basis for the proposed offset. SourceLaws 1937, c. 108, § 14, p. 398; Laws 1939, c. 56, § 11, p. 249; C.S.Supp.,1941, § 48-713; R.S.1943, § 48-655; Laws 1947, c. 175, § 14, p. 582; Laws 1949, c. 163, § 14(1), p. 429; Laws 1971, LB 651, § 10; Laws 1985, LB 337, § 1; Laws 1986, LB 811, § 137; Laws 1993, LB 46, § 14; Laws 1994, LB 1337, § 12; Laws 1995, LB 1, § 13; Laws 2000, LB 953, § 10; Laws 2009, LB631, § 10.