Tax and Revenue Administration Tourism Levy Act Information Circular TL-4R1

TL-4R1 / May 2007

ALBERTA TOURISM LEVY ACT INFORMATION CIRCULAR:
WAIVER OR CANCELLATION OF PENALTIES OR INTEREST

This Information Circular explains the guidelines Alberta Finance, Tax and Revenue Administration (TRA) follows in administering the waiver or cancellation of penalties or interest under the Tourism Levy Act (the Act). The topics in this circular include:

• Waivers of Late Filing Penalty or Interest
• Extraordinary Circumstances
• Circumstances Under Which Waivers Will Not Be Made
• Other Considerations
• Waiver Application Procedures

The comments in this circular apply to waiver or cancellation of penalty and interest charges. For simplicity, “waive” will include the term “cancel”.

Waivers of Late Filing Penalty or Interest

1. Under the provisions of the Act, the Minister of Finance is authorized to waive penalties or interest imposed under the Act.
   
   
2. Waivers of a late-filing penalty and interest are intended to provide relief in extraordinary circumstances not covered by the Act or administrative policy. Their use is a last resort and a request for relief will be reviewed as such.
   
   
3. Penalties that relate to false statements made knowingly or through negligence, carelessness, or wilful default will generally not be waived.
   
   
4. If a disputed liability relates to the application of the Act and regulation and there is time to object, a Notice of Objection can be filed with TRA at the address noted below.

Extraordinary Circumstances

5. Penalties or interest may be waived where extraordinary circumstances prevented an operator or its agent from complying with the Act. Examples of such circumstances include:
   
   
   • natural disasters such as flood, fire, storm;
   • personal tragedy such as a serious illness or death of, or in the family of, the person who oversees and ensures compliance of a small operator with the Act and regulation;
   • theft or vandalism of records;
   • civil disturbances.
     
     
6. A postal strike is not normally sufficient reason to waive interest on late payments by operators because they are able to make payments at most Alberta financial institutions. Also, during postal strikes TRA arranges for the filing of Tourism Levy returns at designated government centres throughout the province.
   
   Late filing penalties may be waived for postal strikes if the operator demonstrates that no other means, such as courier delivery, fax transmission, IVR (Interactive Voice Response), or Tax and Revenue Administration Client Self-service (TRACS), was available to file its return on time.
   
   
7. The Minister of Finance must be satisfied that, despite the extraordinary circumstances, the operator made all reasonable efforts to comply with the Act. This includes filing returns and making payment of the Tourism Levy by the due date. If an operator fails to file a return or make a payment of the levy by the due date, and the extraordinary circumstances leading to the request for a waiver of a late filing penalty did not commence until after the due date, TRA will not waive the penalty amount.

Circumstances Under Which Waivers Will Not Be Made

8. Interest and penalties are charged when TRA detects and corrects errors in filed returns. This may not take place until a post-assessment review of the return several months after the initial assessment. In these cases, the assessed charges are not subject to waiver due to this delay, unless the delay was unreasonable and outside of normal review practice. Further charges will not be waived because of error on the part of the preparer of a Tourism Levy return or lack of knowledge, misinterpretation or misapplication on the part of the operator, its principals or representatives.
   
   
9. TRA does not waive penalties or interest for financial hardship reasons.

Other Considerations

10. The operator's history of compliance with its obligations under the Act, its efforts to prevent the liability or to take corrective action, and its care in conducting its affairs under a self assessing system are all factors considered by TRA before a decision for a waiver is made.
    
    
11. An operator should not seek relief from penalties or interest by more than one means at any one time. If an operator has filed an objection or appeal, or has otherwise requested a reassessment, it should not concurrently be seeking a waiver of penalties or interest on the same issue.

Waiver Application Procedures

12. Operators or their agents who believe their case meets the above guidelines should send a request for waiver of penalty or interest in writing to:

TAX SERVICES BRANCH
TAX AND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION
9811 – 109 STREET
EDMONTON AB T5K 2L5

13. The request for waiver should include:
    
    
    1. operator's name and address;
    2. representative's name and address (if applicable);
    3. name under which the business is operated
    4. operator's business identification number;
    5. collection periods involved;
    6. description of the penalty or interest for which the waiver is sought and the amount involved;
    7. reasons the penalty or interest should be waived, supported by documentation and a chronology of events, as applicable; and
    8. description of previous contacts with TRA or other areas of Alberta Finance on the issue.
       
       
14. During consideration of the waiver request the operator may be asked for more information or documentation.
    
    
15. The operator's request is reviewed in detail and the decision is final and not subject to further consideration, objection or appeal. The operator is informed of the final decision in writing.
    
    
16. Any resulting changes to penalties or interest will be made through an adjustment to the operator's account, or through reassessment. No interest on refunded monies will be paid.