77-2790 Income tax; deficiency; interest; failure to report or file; prohibited acts; penalties.
77-2790. Income tax;deficiency; interest; failure to report or file; prohibited acts; penalties.(1)(a) If any part of a deficiency is the result of negligenceor intentional disregard of rules and regulations but without intent to defraud,the Tax Commissioner may add to the tax an amount equal to five percent ofthe deficiency.(b) If any part of a requested refund is overstated as aresult of negligence, material misstatement, or intentional disregard of rulesand regulations but without intent to defraud, the Tax Commissioner may addto the tax an amount equal to five percent of the overstatement of the refund.(2)(a) If any part of a deficiency is the result of fraud,the Tax Commissioner may add to the tax an amount equal to fifty percent ofthe deficiency. This amount shall be in lieu of any amount determined undersubsection (1) of this section.(b) If any part of a requested refund is overstated as aresult of fraud, the Tax Commissioner may add to the tax an amount equal tofifty percent of the overstatement of the refund. This amount shall be inlieu of any amount determined under subsection (1) of this section.(3) If any taxpayer fails to pay all or any part of an installmentof any tax due, he or she shall be deemed to have made an underpayment ofestimated tax. The Tax Commissioner shall determine the amount of underpaymentof estimated tax in accordance with the laws of the United States.(4) If any taxpayer, with intent to evade or defeat any incometax imposed by the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967 or the payment thereof, claimsan excessive number of exemptions or in any other manner overstates the amountof withholding, he or she shall be guilty of a Class II misdemeanor. If anyemployer or payor, without intent to evade or defeat any income tax imposedby the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967 or the payment thereof, fails to makea return and pay a tax withheld by him or her at the time required by or underthe act, such employer or payor shall be liable for such taxes and shall paythe same together with interest thereon and any addition to tax assessed pursuantto subsection (1) of this section. Such interest and addition to tax shallnot be charged to or collected from the employee or payee by the employeror payor. The Tax Commissioner shall have the same rights and powers for thecollection of such tax, interest, and addition to tax against such employeror payor as are now prescribed by the act for the collection of income taxagainst a taxpayer.(5) If any person required to collect, withhold, truthfullyaccount for, and pay over the income tax imposed by the Nebraska Revenue Actof 1967 willfully fails to collect or withhold such tax or truthfully accountfor and pay over such tax or willfully attempts in any manner to evade ordefeat the tax or the payment thereof, the Tax Commissioner may, in additionto other penalties provided by law, impose, assess, and collect a penaltyequal to the total amount of the tax evaded, not collected, not withheld,or not accounted for and paid over. No addition to tax under subsection (1)or (2) of this section shall be imposed for any offense to which this subsectionapplies.(6) If any person with fraudulent intent fails to pay, orto deduct or withhold and pay, any income tax, to make, render, sign, or certifyany return of estimated tax, or to supply any information within the timerequired, the Tax Commissioner may impose, assess, and collect a penalty ofnot more than one thousand dollars, in addition to any other amounts requiredunder the income tax provisions of the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967.(7) If any person for frivolous or groundless reasons orwith the intent to delay or impede the administration of the Nebraska RevenueAct of 1967 (a) fails to pay over any tax due and owing under such act, (b)fails to file any return required under such act, or (c) files what purportsto be a return but which does not contain sufficient information from whichto determine the correctness of the self-assessment of tax or which containsinformation that indicates that the self-assessment of tax is substantiallyincorrect, such person shall pay a penalty of five hundred dollars for eachoccurrence. The penalty provided by this subsection shall be in addition toany other penalties provided by law.(8) Any person who aids, procures, advises, or assists inthe preparation of any return, affidavit, refund claim, or other documentwith the knowledge that its use will result in the material understatementof the tax liability of another person or the material overstatement of theamount of a refund of another person shall, in addition to other penaltiesprovided by law, pay a penalty of one thousand dollars with respect to eachseparate return or other document.(a) For the purposes of this subsection, a person furnishingtyping, reproducing, or other mechanical assistance shall not be treated ashaving aided or assisted in the preparation of such document.(b) A determination of a material deficiency shall not besufficient to show that a person has aided or assisted in a material understatementof the tax liability of another person.(c) The penalty in this subsection shall not be imposed morethan once on any person for having aided or assisted in the preparation ofdocuments for the same taxpayer, the same tax, and the same tax period regardlessof the number of documents involved.(d) Such penalty shall apply whether or not the understatementis with the consent of the person authorized to present the return, affidavit,refund claim, or other document.(9) The additions to the income tax and penalties relatingthereto provided by the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967 shall be paid upon noticeand demand and shall be assessed, collected, and paid in the same manner astaxes, and any reference in such act to income tax or the tax imposed by theact shall be deemed also to refer to additions to the tax and penalties providedby this section. For purposes of the deficiency procedures provided in section 77-2776, this subsection shall not apply to:(a) Any addition to tax under subsection (1) or (4) of section 77-2789 except as to thatportion attributable to a deficiency;(b) Any addition to tax for underpayment of estimated taxas provided in subsection (3) of this section; or(c) Any additional penalty under subsection (6), (7), or(8) of this section.(10) For purposes of subsections (1) and (2) of this sectionrelating to deficiencies resulting from negligence or fraud, the amount shownas the tax by the taxpayer upon his or her return shall be taken into accountin determining the amount of the deficiency only if such return was filedon or before the last day prescribed for the filing of such return determinedwith regard to any extension of time for such filing.(11) For purposes of subsections (5) and (6) of this section,the term person shall include an individual, corporation, partnership, orlimited liability company, or an officer or employee of any corporation, includinga dissolved corporation, or a member or employee of any partnership or limitedliability company, who as such officer, employee, or member is under a dutyto perform the act in respect of which the violation occurs.(12) If any person fails to comply with the reporting orfiling requirements of sections 77-2772, 77-2775, and 77-2786 or the rulesand regulations adopted and promulgated thereunder, the Tax Commissioner mayimpose, assess, and collect a penalty against such person for each instanceof noncompliance of twenty-five percent of the tax due. Such amount shallbe in addition to any other penalty, tax, or interest otherwise imposed bylaw for such noncompliance.(13) If any nonresident individual provides false informationor statements to an employer or payor regarding the portion of his or herwages or payments that are subject to withholding for this state which ifused would result in the amount withheld being less than seventy-five percentof his or her income tax liability on such wages or payments or if any employeror payor uses such information when the employer or payor knows such informationis false or maintains records which show such information is false, the TaxCommissioner may, in addition to other penalties provided by law, impose,assess, and collect from such individual, payor, or employer the penaltiesprovided in subsections (5) and (6) of this section.(14) If any employer or payor employing twenty-five or moreemployees who is required to withhold and pay over income tax imposed by theNebraska Revenue Act of 1967 fails to either (a) withhold at least one andone-half percent of the wages of any employee or (b) obtain satisfactory evidencefrom the employee justifying a lower withholding amount as required by subdivision(1)(b) of section 77-2753, the Tax Commissioner may impose, assess, and collecta penalty of not more than one thousand dollars per violation. SourceLaws 1967, c. 487, § 90, p. 1611; Laws 1984, LB 962, § 29; Laws 1985, LB 273, § 65; Laws 1988, LB 1064, § 3; Laws 1993, LB 121, § 511; Laws 1993, LB 345, § 69; Laws 2007, LB223, § 14; Laws 2008, LB1004, § 2; Laws 2010, LB879, § 13.Operative Date: January 1, 2011