Current through all regulations passed and filed through December 16, 2024
As used in this rule, "opinion" means an opinion of the tax
commissioner as provided for in section
5703.53 of the Revised
Code.
(A) A taxpayer requesting an
opinion must:
(1) Submit the request in
writing;
(2) Request an "opinion of
the tax commissioner";
(3) State
all facts of the activity or transaction for which the opinion is
requested;
(4) Identify the parties
involved in the activity or transaction about which the opinion is
requested;
(5) Set out the specific
legal question or questions for which the opinion is requested; and
(6)
(a) Be
signed by the taxpayer or, if the taxpayer is a corporation, by an officer or
employee of the corporation authorized to act on its behalf; or
(b) Be signed by the taxpayer's tax
representative if the taxpayer has filed in writing, signed by the taxpayer or,
if the taxpayer is a corporation, by an officer or employee of the corporation
authorized to act on its behalf, authorization for the tax representative to
request such an opinion on behalf of the taxpayer and to answer questions on
behalf of the taxpayer for purposes of the request.
(7) If a request is made for an opinion to be
confidential, support any request for the opinion to be confidential with a
valid reason therefore (e.g. publication of a redacted opinion would still
identify the taxpayer or a trade secret of the taxpayer).
(B) Any correspondence that does not meet all
of the criteria in paragraph (A) of this rule is general correspondence. A
response to general correspondence is not an opinion.
(C) The commissioner may
request additional documentation or memoranda in
support of a request for an opinion as she or he deems
necessary.
(D) The
commissioner has the discretion to decline to issue a requested
opinion.
(E) An opinion will bear
an opinion number and be headed "Opinion of the Tax Commissioner." Any document
that does not bear an opinion number and heading is not an opinion.
(F) Any taxpayer who receives an opinion may
rely on that opinion. The
commissioner
will
follow that opinion in determining the tax liability of that taxpayer from the
date of the issuance of the opinion until any of the following events occurs:
(1) The opinion is specifically revoked in
writing and sent to the taxpayer. The effective date of a revocation will be
the date it is received by the taxpayer or one year after the issuance of the
opinion, whichever is later;
(2)
The effective date of any rule of the commissioner inconsistent with the
opinion;
(3) The effective date of
any state or federal statutory amendment or federal rule change that renders
the opinion inconsistent with the laws of the state of Ohio or the United
States;
(4) The date of any
decision concerning the laws of the state of Ohio or the United States by a
state or federal court or by the Ohio board of tax appeals that renders the
opinion inconsistent with the decision;
(5) Any change in the taxpayer's material
facts on which the opinion was based; or
(6) The expiration date of the opinion, if
specified in the opinion.
(G) An opinion does not bind the commissioner
as to the treatment of any transaction or tax liability arising prior to the
issuance of the opinion.
(H) An
opinion binds the commissioner only with respect to the taxpayer for whom the
opinion was issued.
