Mr. Cole was recently appointed to the Louisiana Board of Tax Appeals and learned that his first hearing involved an appeal by his wife's employer, Sasol North America, Inc. (Sasol). At which point he requested an advisory opinion of the Board concerning the implications and the applicability of the Codeto such a situation. Based upon the facts presented at that time the Board declined to render an opinion at the March 15, 2013 Board meeting. Since that time a third member has been appointed to the Board of Tax Appeals giving it a quorum.
Sasol is a global energy company with 2012 revenues of approximately $22 billion. Sasol employs 34,000 employees worldwide, including approximately 500 in Lake Charles. As one of the investments in Mr. Cole's retirement account, he holds $10,000 of company stock. According to Mr. Cole's advisory opinion request, his wife, Rebekah, had no knowledge of this tax matter until Mr. Cole asked her to obtain a job description for this opinion request. She has been employed with Sasol since May 2004. She was previously a Research Engineer in the R & D Department, and currently works part-time as a Product Safety Specialist in the Global Product Safety Group where she receives full benefits with a salary of $55,000 per year. Ms. Cole's job deals with product notifications and regulatory compliance related to the company's products, and does not involve taxes or financial filing. Her department is not involved with, and has no knowledge of, the company's tax filing or practices.
The basic issue that will be before the BOTA for the hearing involves whether Sasol's $1.5 million refund claim is prescribed. If the LDR's Exception of Prescription is denied, then the BOTA will have another hearing on the merits of the appeal, which will revolve around the accuracy of the LDR's audit that increased the taxpayer's 2000 LA income taxes and Sasol's request of LDR to carry back Sasol's reported Net Operating Loss for previous tax years.
The jurisdiction of the BOTA is defined in R.S. 47:1407. In the present case, the Louisiana Department of Revenue and Taxation (LDR) denied a refund request and Sasol filed an appeal with the Board. Once the BOTA has rendered judgment, either the taxpayer or the LDR may appeal its ruling to the applicable State District Court (R.S. 47:1434). The appeal is only on the record made at the BOTA, and deference is given to the Board's factual findings (R.S. 47:1435). As a Board Member, Mr. Cole would typically participate in the hearing, vote on the disposition of the matter, and then vote on the approval of the proposed judgment prepared by outside counsel.
Since Mr. Cole's initial advisory opinion request, Judge Graphia has signed an order recusing Mr. Cole from hearing and participation in the decision of the Exception of Peremption and Prescription filed by the Louisiana Department of Revenue and the Petition for Refund filed by Sasol under the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure. The Board of Tax Appeal Rules provide that uncontested motions may be granted by the Chairman without hearing, which occurred when Sasol removed its objection to the Motion. As such, Mr. Cole will no longer be participating in the matter in question. Mr. Cole's amended question to the Board concerns the receipt of income from Sasol, and what effect such income may have in regards to the Code while Sasol is appealing a matter before his agency, the Board of Tax Appeals.
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