2005 Minnesota Statutes

     268.057 Collection of taxes. 

    Subdivision 1.    Amount computed presumed correct.  Any 
 amount due from an employer, as computed by the commissioner, 
 shall be presumed to be correctly determined and assessed, and 
 the burden shall be upon the employer to show its 
 incorrectness.  A statement by the commissioner of the amount 
 due shall be admissible in evidence in any court or 
 administrative proceeding and shall be prima facie evidence of 
 the facts in the statement. 

    Subd. 2.    Priority of payments.  (a) Any payment 
 received from a taxpaying employer shall be applied in the 
 following order: 

    (1) unemployment insurance taxes; then 

    (2) special assessment for interest on any federal loan; 
 then 

    (3) workforce development fee; then 

    (4) interest on past due taxes; then 

    (5) penalties, late fees, administrative service fees, and 
 costs. 

    (b) Paragraph (a) shall be the priority used for all 
 payments received from a taxpaying employer, regardless of how 
 the employer may designate the payment to be applied, except 
 when: 

    (1) there is an outstanding lien and the employer 
 designates that the payment made should be applied to satisfy 
 the lien; 

    (2) the payment is for back pay withheld from an applicant 
 pursuant to section 268.085, subdivision 6, paragraph (b); 

    (3) the payment is specifically designated by the employer 
 to be applied to an outstanding overpayment of unemployment 
 benefits of an applicant; 

    (4) a court or administrative order directs that the 
 payment be applied to a specific obligation; 

    (5) a preexisting payment plan provides for the application 
 of payment; or 

    (6) the commissioner, under the compromise authority of 
 section 268.067, agrees to apply the payment to a different 
 priority. 

    Subd. 3.    Estimating the tax due.  Only if an employer 
 fails to make all necessary records available for an audit 
 pursuant to section 268.186, paragraph (b), and the commissioner 
 has reason to believe the employer has not reported all the 
 required wages on the quarterly wage detail reports under 
 section 268.044, may the commissioner then estimate the amount 
 of tax due and assess the employer the estimated amount due. 

    Subd. 4.    Costs.  Any person that fails to pay any 
 amount when due under this chapter is liable for any filing 
 fees, recording fees, sheriff fees, costs incurred by referral 
 to any public or private collection agency, or litigation costs, 
 including attorney fees, incurred in the collection of the 
 amounts due.  

    If any tendered payment of any amount due, is not honored 
 when presented to a financial institution for payment, a fee of 
 $25 shall be assessed.  

    Costs and fees collected under this subdivision shall be 
 credited to the administration account to be used by the 
 commissioner to ensure integrity in the administration of the 
 unemployment insurance program. 

    Subd. 5.    Interest on amounts past due.  If any 
 amounts due from an employer under this chapter or section 
 116L.20, except late fees under section 268.044, are not 
 received on the date due the unpaid balance shall bear interest 
 at the rate of one and one-half percent per month or any part 
 thereof.  Interest assessed, if not a whole dollar amount, shall 
 be rounded down to the next lower whole dollar.  Interest 
 collected shall be credited to the contingent account.  Interest 
 may be compromised under section 268.067. 

    Subd. 6.    Interest on judgments.  Regardless of 
 section 549.09, if judgment is entered upon any past due amounts 
 from an employer under this chapter or section 116L.20, the 
 unpaid judgment shall bear interest at the rate specified in 
 subdivision 5 until the date of payment.  

    Subd. 7.    Credit adjustments, refunds.  (a) If an 
 employer makes an application for a credit adjustment of any 
 amount paid under this chapter or section 116L.20 within four 
 years of the date that the payment was due, in a manner and 
 format prescribed by the commissioner, and the commissioner 
 determines that the payment or any portion was erroneous, the 
 commissioner shall make an adjustment and issue a credit without 
 interest.  If a credit cannot be used, the commissioner shall 
 refund, without interest, the amount erroneously paid.  The 
 commissioner, on the commissioner's own motion, may make a 
 credit adjustment or refund under this subdivision. 

    Any refund returned to the commissioner shall be considered 
 unclaimed property under chapter 345. 

    (b) If a credit adjustment or refund is denied in whole or 
 in part, a notice of denial shall be sent to the employer by 
 mail or electronic transmission.  Within 30 calendar days after 
 sending of the notice of denial, the employer may protest. 

    Upon receipt of a timely protest, the commissioner shall 
 review the denial and either affirm the denial or redetermine 
 the credit adjustment or refund.  The affirmation of denial or 
 redetermination of the credit adjustment or refund, sent by mail 
 or electronic transmission, shall be final unless an employer 
 files an appeal within 30 calendar days after sending.  
 Proceedings on the appeal shall be conducted in accordance with 
 section 268.105. 

    Subd. 8. Repealed, 1999 c 107 s 67 

    Subd. 9. Repealed, 1999 c 107 s 67 

    Subd. 10.    Priorities under legal dissolutions or 
 distributions.  In the event of any distribution of an 
 employer's assets pursuant to an order of any court, including 
 any receivership, assignment for benefit of creditors, 
 adjudicated insolvency, or similar proceeding, taxes then or 
 thereafter due shall be paid in full prior to all other claims 
 except claims for wages of not more than $1,000 per former 
 employee, earned within six months of the commencement of the 
 proceedings.  In the event of an employer's adjudication in 
 bankruptcy under federal law, taxes then or thereafter due shall 
 be entitled to the priority provided in that law for taxes due 
 any state. 

    HIST: Ex1936 c 2 s 14; 1941 c 554 s 13; 1943 c 650 s 9; 1945 c 
 376 s 13; 1949 c 605 s 12,13; 1951 c 55 s 1; 1953 c 97 s 17; 
 1969 c 9 s 65; 1969 c 567 s 3; 1969 c 854 s 13; 1973 c 254 s 3; 
 1973 c 720 s 73 subds 2,3; 1975 c 108 s 1; 1975 c 302 s 3,4; 
 1975 c 336 s 22,23; 1977 c 430 s 25 subd 1; 1978 c 618 s 2; 1978 
 c 674 s 60; 1980 c 508 s 11-13; 3Sp1981 c 2 art 1 s 33; 1Sp1982 
 c 1 s 34,35; 1983 c 372 s 39; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 
 9 s 75; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 362 s 26; 1987 c 385 s 28-30; 1989 c 
 65 s 12; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1993 c 67 s 11; 1994 c 483 s 1; 
 1995 c 54 s 13-15; 1996 c 417 s 24,31; 1997 c 66 s 66-69,79,80; 
 1998 c 265 s 14-17,44; 1999 c 107 s 31,32,66; 2000 c 343 s 4; 
 1Sp2003 c 3 art 2 s 6,20; 2004 c 183 s 37; 2005 c 112 art 2 s 14 

*   NOTE:  The amendment to this section by Laws 2004, chapter 
*183, section 37, is effective July 1, 2005.  Laws 2004, chapter 
*183, section 37, the effective date. 

*   NOTE:  The amendment to subdivision 5 by Laws 2004, chapter 
*183, section 37, does not apply to late tax report penalties 
*issued prior to July 1, 2005.  Laws 2004, chapter 183, section 
*37, the effective date.