Maitland v. State of New Jersey Division of Taxation (In re Maitland)
Maitland v. State of New Jersey Division of Taxation (In re Maitland)
Opinion of the Court
Procedural History
Elaine Maitland filed a Chapter 7 petition on January 2, 2013. In her schedules, she listed debts owed to the IRS and the State of New Jersey Division of Taxation (“Division of Tax”) for unpaid income taxes for the 2008 tax year. The court issued a notice of discharge on April 13, 2013, and closed the case. Ms. Maitland filed a motion to reopen her bankruptcy case for the purpose of filing this adversary proceeding.
Ms. Maitland filed a one-count complaint seeking a declaration that her income tax liability to the State of New Jersey for the 2008 tax year has been discharged, and that any effort by the Division of Tax to collect that debt would constitute a violation of the discharge injunction of 11 U.S.C. § 524(a). Ms. Maitland filed a motion for summary judgment, and the Division of Tax filed a cross-motion for summary judgment. The parties submitted a Joint Stipulation of Material Facts, and agree that there are no disputed material facts that would require a trial.
The court took oral argument on the summary judgment motions on January
Facts
The facts are not in dispute. Ms. Mait-land filed her federal and New Jersey personal Gross Income Tax return for the 2008 tax year on September 16, 2010. Under federal and New Jersey law,
The IRS notified Ms. Maitland that it acknowledged that the tax liability on her amended return was discharged in her bankruptcy, and issued a Certificate of Release of Federal Lien. The Division of Tax, however, takes the position that the tax debt reflected on the 2008 returns was not discharged. Ms. Maitland filed this adversary proceeding to resolve that issue.
Discussion
A. Summary judgment standard
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 was substantially revised in December 2010. The comments to Rule 56 provide that the changes were intended “to improve the procedures for presenting and deciding summary-judgment motions.... ” Among other changes, the familiar formulation of “genuine issue of material fact” that was previously set forth in 56(c) was moved to 56(a) and modified to read “genuine dispute as to any material fact.” Rule 56(a) now provides that the “court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The court should state on the record the reasons for granting or denying the motion.”
Accordingly, it remains a correct statement of the law to say that when faced with a summary judgment motion, the court must view the facts “in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.”
This matter is ripe for summary judgment because the parties have stipulated that there are no genuine disputes as to any material fact.
B. Definition of “return” under BAPC-PA
Before addressing the issues presented by the parties, the court must start at square one with the definition of a “return.” The Bankruptcy Code requires that a debtor file a tax return in order for the tax debt to be dischargeable.
Prior to 2005, the term “return” as used in § 523(a)(1) was not defined in the Bankruptcy Code. The definition of “return” that developed in the case law involved a four-part test “under which the document must: (1) purport to be a return; (2) be executed by the debtor under penalty of perjury; (3) contain sufficient data to allow calculation of the tax; and (4) represent an honest and reasonable attempt to satisfy the requirements of the tax law.”
For purposes of this subsection, the’ term “return” means a return that satisfies the requirements of applicable non-bankruptcy law (including applicable filing requirements). Süch term includes a return prepared pursuant to section 6020(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or similar State or local law, or a written stipulation to a judgment or a final order entered by a nonbankruptcy tribunal, but does not include a return made pursuant to section 6020(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or a similar State or local law.
The Fifth Circuit in McCoy was the first Circuit Court of Appeals to address whether a late-filed return qualifies as a “return” under the BAPCPA definition and Mississippi law.
Notably, even the IRS has expressed concern over the Fifth Circuit’s interpretation of the hanging paragraph, which' would render a one-day-late return not a “return” at all for purposes of § 523. The IRS advocated against the McCoy result in a brief filed in a bankruptcy case in California, stating “The United States does not adopt this position, which creates a harsh result that appears inconsistent with the statute’s intent.”
The Tenth Circuit in Mallo,
The First Circuit in Fahey,
The Seventh and Eighth Circuits have also considered this issue, but did not have to decide it because the cases before those courts were filed prior to the effective date of BAPCPA. The Seventh Circuit decided Payne
This court respectfully disagrees with the conclusion reached by the Courts of Appeal that have ruled on this issue post-BAPCPA. This court, consistent with the dicta in Colsen and the dissents in Payne and Fahey, finds that a late-filed tax return can meet the definition of a return under § 523(a)(*). The reasons are fivefold.
First, those courts’ reading of the definition of the term “return” would render other parts of 523 superfluous, a result the Supreme Court has advocated that lower courts avoid.
Another provision of § 523 that would be undermined under the McCoy line of cases is § 523(b), which provides that “a debt that was excepted from discharge under subsection (a)(1) ... in a prior case concerning the debtor ... is dischargeable in a case under this title.” If a late-filed return is not a “return” then there is little need
Second, this court finds that a plain language approach (which admittedly the McCoy line of cases claimed to have engaged in as well) does not fully support those courts’ reading of the term. In crafting a definition of “return”, Congress could have easily excluded a late return, but it did not do so. In fact, there is no temporal element in the definition. Additionally, the definition itself makes an exception for “a return prepared pursuant to section 6020(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or similar State or local law.” Although that statutory provision does not specify when such a return would be filed, logic dictates that a 6020(a) return will invariably be filed after April 15th. Given that the definition itself includes a late-filed return as a “return”, this court concludes that the definition was focused on what was filed, ie., the information necessary for a taxing authority to collect the debt, rather than when it was filed. The inclusion of 26 U.S.C. § 6020(a) versus § 6020(b) hinges on the cooperation of the taxpayer, not on any time requiremént. Therefore, it seems inconsistent to conclude that the satisfaction of filing requirements allows only timely filed returns.
Third, the draconian result occasioned by excluding a late-filed return from discharge is inconsistent with the oft-stated policy of the Bankruptcy Code that its principal purpose is to grant a fresh start to the “honest but unfortunate debtor.”
Fourth, when one considers § 523(a)(1) as part of the broader statutory scheme of § 523(a), the McCoy line of cases is anomalous. Other subsections of § 523 primarily address debts arising out of culpable conduct by the debtor: fraud (§ 523(a)(2)); defalcation, embezzlement or larceny (§ 523(a)(4)); death or personal injury caused by driving while intoxicated (§ 523(a)(9)); or violation of Federal securities laws (§ 523(a)(19)). The McCoy reading of the definition of “return” would impose the same penalty for blameless failure to file a timely return, such as a debtor who was prevented from mailing his return on April 15th because of illness, as would be imposed on a debtor who committed an intentional tort. This court is reticent to adopt such a reading without stronger textual support in the statute.
Finally, the Circuit courts in the McCoy camp failed to address the detrimental impact their rulings would have on unsecured creditors who now must share the limited assets of the debtor with tax claims that may be decades old. Many of these unsecured creditors extended credit to the debtor based on its then current financial condition, unaware of old tax claims. Other aspects of the Bankruptcy Code demonstrate a careful balancing of the rights of various constituencies, so it is difficult to believe that Congress chose to favor taxing authorities to the complete detriment of other unsecured creditors and the debtor’s fresh start.
For all of these reasons, the court finds that a late-filed tax return can meet the definition of a “return” under § 523(a)(*).
C. Dischargeability of Ms. Maitland’s 2008 tax debt under § 523(a)(l)(B)(ii)
Ms. Maitland posits that the time period for determining whether her tax debt is dischargeable under § 523(a)(l)(B)(ii) should be measured from the filing of her original return, not from the filing of her amended return. Ms. Maitland cites two bankruptcy court opinions that support her position.
The first is Greenstein,
Chapter 7 discharge depends on the taxpayer/debtor’s compliance with applicable law governing the filing of the appropriate tax return. The effect of the two year limitation period is to allow the taxing authorities a reasonable time to collect the tax or create a lien on assets of the debtor. That period should begin with the filing of the return that reports or should report the debts the taxing authority seeks to collect. Until that return is filed, the taxing authority cannot be expected to take action to assess or collect the tax.37
The Greenstein court logically concluded that if the rationale behind the two year period in § 523(a)(l)(B)(ii) is to allow the taxing authority time to collect from or create a lien on assets of the debtor, then the clock should start running from the first time the debtor reports its tax liability.
The second case Ms. Maitland relies on is Lambom;
the limitations period for an original tax return should commence on the filing of the original return; an amended return should not toll the period as to the same taxes admitted to be owed in the original return; but an amended return should toll the period as to additional tax liability admitted for the first time in the amended return.40
If this court were to adopt the Lambom approach it would be dispositive, because Ms. Maitland over-reported her 2008 tax liability; thus, there was no “additional tax liability admitted for the first time in the amended return.”
The Division of Tax attempts to distinguish Lambom based on the fact that the language of § 523(a)(l)(B)(ii) does not differentiate between an original and an amended return. That argument is a nonstarter. It is precisely because § 523(a)(l)(B)(ii) does not use the term “original” or “amended” that the Lamborn court had to undertake an exhaustive review of the relevant caselaw.
The Division of Tax also suggests that this court should disregard Lambom because it is a non-binding decision from a bankruptcy court outside this jurisdiction. While that is true, the parties have not cited the court to any binding authority on. this issue, and the court’s own research has not disclosed any. It is worth noting that the cases the Division of Tax relies on are also outside this jurisdiction and are both more than twenty-five years old.
The Division of Tax relies on Wood
That conclusion is supported by the legislative history to the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978. The House Committee on the Judiciary, explaining why certain taxes should not be dischargeable in bankruptcy, stated that “[a]n open-ended dischargeabil
The recent case of Putnam v. IRS
The two-year lookback period [in § 523(a)(l)(B)(ii) ] provides the IRS with a specified time period within which it must pursue its claim and preserve its rights. Because liability for untimely tax returns will be discharged if the return was filed more than two years before the bankruptcy petition, it encourages the IRS to collect on the debt or perfect its lien before the two-year period expires. If the IRS neglects its claim, the tax debt becomes dischargea-ble. The noted policies of repose, elimination of stale claims and certainty are all present.48
The Putnam court’s observation that the two-year period commences when an untimely tax return is filed because that is “when the IRS is put on notice that it has a complete and present cause of action”
Finally, this court’s interpretation is consistent with the Supreme Court’s decision in Young
Finally, the Division of Tax claims that it is irrelevant whether an amended tax return increases or decreases the tax liability. That statement is at odds with New Jersey tax law, which clearly recognizes that there is a difference. The New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act provides that a tax “shall be deemed to be assessed on the date of filing of the return (including any amended return showing an increase of tax).”
This court finds that the filing of an amended tax return that does not increase the tax liability should not give the taxing authority a second chance to collect unpaid taxes. In the case before the court, the Division of Tax was given a fair opportunity to collect the 2008 taxes as reflected on the original tax return. It did not to do so. The filing of an amended return that reduces the tax liability should not reward the Division for sleeping on its rights to the detriment of a debtor’s fresh start.
D. Dischargeability of Ms. Maitland’s 2008 tax debt under § 523(a)(1)(A)
The Division of Tax alternatively argues that the 2008 tax debt is nondischargeable under § 523(a)(1)(A). That section provides that a discharge does not apply to a tax “of the kind and for the periods specified in section 507(a)(3) or 507(a)(8) of this title.... ” The Division of Tax asserts that Ms. Maitland’s 2008 taxes are not dischargeable under § 507(a)(8)(A)(iii) because it encompasses taxes “not assessed before but assessable, under applicable law or by agreement, after the commencement of the case.”
That argument has a certain initial appeal, but it fails to take into account the introductory language of § 507(a)(8)(A)(iii), which makes it applicable to taxes “other than a tax of a kind specified in section 523(a)(1)(B) or 523(a)(1)(C) of this title.... ”
Conclusion
The court hereby vacates its orders of February 17, 2015. The court grants summary judgment in favor of Ms. Maitland, and finds that her 2008 tax debt was discharged as part of her bankruptcy case. The court denies the cross-motion for summary judgment by the Division of Tax. Ms. Maitland’s counsel should submit a proposed order in accordance with this opinion.
. Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(a)
. N.J.S.A. 54A:8-l(a)
. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a)
. See also, Various Plaintiffs v. Various Defendants, 856 F.Supp.2d 703 (E.D.Pa. 2012)
. Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372, 380, 127 S.Ct. 1769, 167 L.Ed.2d 686 (2007)
. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)
. Kaucher v. County of Bucks, 455 F.3d 418 (3d Cir. 2006)
. NAACP v. North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue, 665 F.3d 464 (3d Cir. 2011)
. 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(l)(B)(i) (“[a] discharge under section 727 ... does not discharge an individual debtor from any debt — (1) for a tax ... with respect to which a return ... was not filed or given....”)
. Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (“BAPCPA”)
. See, e.g., Perkins v. Mass. Dep't of Revenue, 507 B.R. 45 (D.Mass. 2014); In re Wendt, 512 B.R. 716 (Bankr.S.D.Fla. 2013); Cannon v. United States (In re Cannon), 451 B.R. 204 (Bankr.N.D.Ga. 2011); Creekmore v. Internal Revenue Serv. (In re Creekmore), 401 B.R. 748 (Bankr.N.D.Miss. 2008)
. See, e.g., Biggers v. Internal Revenue Service (In re Biggers), 528 B.R. 870 (Bankr.M.D.Tenn. 2015); Briggs v. United States (In re Briggs), 511 B.R. 707 (Bankr.N.D.Ga. 2014); In re Martin, 508 B.R. 717 (Bankr.E.D.Cal. 2014)
. Hamer v. United States (In re Hamer), 328 B.R. 825, 831 & n. 9 (Bankr.N.D.Ala. 2005). This four-part test, commonly referred to as the Beard test, is derived from Beard v. Commissioner, 82 T.C. 766 (1984), aff'd, 793 F.2d 139 (6th Cir. 1986).
. 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(*)
. This issue is currently on appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. See, IRS v. Smith (In re Smith), 527 B.R. 14 (N.D.Cal. 2014) (holding that BAPCPA’s definition of a return did not displace the Beard test)
. In re McCoy, 666 F.3d 924 (5th Cir. 2012)
. 666 F.3d at 930
. Id. at 929
. Martin v. Internal Revenue Service (In re Martin), 508 B.R. 717, 727 n. 14 (Bankr.E.D.Cal. 2014)
. Mallo v. Internal Revenue Service (In re Mallo), 774 F.3d 1313 (10th Cir. 2014)
. Fahey v. Massachusetts Department of Revenue (In re Fahey), 779 F.3d 1 (2015)
. Fahey, at 9
. Fahey, at 11 (Judge Thompson, dissenting)
. Id.
. In re Payne, 431 F.3d 1055 (7th Cir. 2005)
. Id. at 1060 (Easterbrook, J., dissenting)
. Id. at 1060-61 (Easterbrook, J., dissenting)
. Id. at 1061-62 (Easterbrook, J., dissenting)
. In re Colsen, 446 F.3d 836 (8th Cir. 2006). The Colsen court did not apply the current definition of return because the case was filed was prior to the effective date of BAPCA; therefore, its statement agreeing with Judge Easterbrook’s rationale in Payne is dicta.
. See, Kawaauhau v. Geiger, 523 U.S. 57, 62, 118 S.Ct. 974, 140 L.Ed.2d 90 (1998) (“[W]e are hesitant to adopt an interpretation of a congressional enactment which renders superfluous another portion of that same law.”)
. Fahey, 779 F.3d at 6-7
. In re Kemendo, 516 B.R. 434 (Bankr.S.D.Tex. 2014)
. TRW Inc. v. Andrews, 534 U.S. 19, 122 S.Ct. 441, 151 L.Ed.2d 339 (2001)
. The court is aware that occasionally a debtor will file a new bankruptcy case because the 240 day period in § 507(a)(8) had not passed as of the date of the filing of the previous case; however, in this court’s experience even in those instances most of those tax returns were not timely filed.
. Marrama v. Citizens Bank of Massachusetts, 549 U.S. 365, 373, 127 S.Ct. 1105, 166 L.Ed.2d 956 (2007)
.Greenstein v. Illinois Dep’t of Revenue (In re Greenstein), 95 B.R. 583 (Bankr.N.D.Ill. 1989)
. Id. at 585
. Lamborn v. IRS (In re Lamborn), 204 B.R. 999 (Bankr.N.D.Okla. 1997)
. Id. at 1005
. Id. (emphasis in original)
. Id.
. One of the cases the Division of Tax relies on is In re Edwards, 74 B.R. 661 (Bankr.N.D. Ohio 1987). That case was decided under § 523(a)(1)(A) and both its facts and reasoning have no bearing on this issue.
. Wood v. IRS (In re Wood), 78 B.R. 316 (Bankr.M.D.Fla. 1987)
. Brief in Support of Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment in Favor of the State of New Jersey at 4
. H. Rep. No. 95-595, 95th Cong., 2d Sess. 1, 190, reprinted in 1978 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin. News 5963, 6150 (emphasis added)
. House Report at 190, reprinted in 1978 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin. News at 6150
. Putnam v. IRS (In re Putnam), 503 B.R. 656 (Bankr.E.D.N.C. 2014)
.' Id. at 664
. Id.
. Young v. United States, 535 U.S. 43, 122 S.Ct. 1036, 152 L.Ed.2d 79 (2002)
. Id. at 47, 122 S.Ct. 1036
. N.J.S.A. § 54a:9-3
. Putnam, 503 B.R. at 665 (the two-year rule ... provide[s] the IRS with a window within which it can reasonably expect to collect on the debt or perfect a lien, yet [it] also pre-servéis] a debtor’s right to a "fresh start” when those same tax claims go unpur-sued....”)
. Greenstein, 95 B.R. at 585
. BAPCPA added new provisions to § 507(a)(8) that were intended to toll the relevant time periods whenever the taxing authority is prevented from collecting, such as when an offer in compromise is pending. See, 11 U.S.C. § 507(a)(8)((A)(ii)(I)
. 11 U.S.C. § 507(a)(8)(A)(iii)
. 11 U.S.C. § 507(a)(8)(A)(iii)
Reference
- Full Case Name
- IN RE: Elaine MAITLAND, Debtor. Elaine Maitland v. State of New Jersey Division of Taxation
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published