77-2790. Income tax; deficiency; interest; failure to report or file; prohibited acts; penalties.

(1)(a) If any part of a deficiency is the result of negligence or intentional disregard of rules and regulations but without intent to defraud, the Tax Commissioner may add to the tax an amount equal to five percent of the deficiency.

(b) If any part of a requested refund is overstated as a result of negligence, material misstatement, or intentional disregard of rules and regulations but without intent to defraud, the Tax Commissioner may add to the tax an amount equal to five percent of the overstatement of the refund.

(2)(a) If any part of a deficiency is the result of fraud, the Tax Commissioner may add to the tax an amount equal to fifty percent of the deficiency. This amount shall be in lieu of any amount determined under subsection (1) of this section.

(b) If any part of a requested refund is overstated as a result of fraud, the Tax Commissioner may add to the tax an amount equal to fifty percent of the overstatement of the refund. This amount shall be in lieu of any amount determined under subsection (1) of this section.

(3) If any taxpayer fails to pay all or any part of an installment of any tax due, he or she shall be deemed to have made an underpayment of estimated tax. The Tax Commissioner shall determine the amount of underpayment of estimated tax in accordance with the laws of the United States.

(4) If any taxpayer, with intent to evade or defeat any income tax imposed by the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967 or the payment thereof, claims an excessive number of exemptions or in any other manner overstates the amount of withholding, he or she shall be guilty of a Class II misdemeanor. If any employer or payor, without intent to evade or defeat any income tax imposed by the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967 or the payment thereof, fails to make a return and pay a tax withheld by him or her at the time required by or under the act, such employer or payor shall be liable for such taxes and shall pay the same together with interest thereon and any addition to tax assessed pursuant to subsection (1) of this section. Such interest and addition to tax shall not be charged to or collected from the employee or payee by the employer or payor. The Tax Commissioner shall have the same rights and powers for the collection of such tax, interest, and addition to tax against such employer or payor as are now prescribed by the act for the collection of income tax against a taxpayer.

(5) If any person required to collect, withhold, truthfully account for, and pay over the income tax imposed by the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967 willfully fails to collect or withhold such tax or truthfully account for and pay over such tax or willfully attempts in any manner to evade or defeat the tax or the payment thereof, the Tax Commissioner may, in addition to other penalties provided by law, impose, assess, and collect a penalty equal to the total amount of the tax evaded, not collected, not withheld, or not accounted for and paid over. No addition to tax under subsection (1) or (2) of this section shall be imposed for any offense to which this subsection applies.

(6) If any person with fraudulent intent fails to pay, or to deduct or withhold and pay, any income tax, to make, render, sign, or certify any return of estimated tax, or to supply any information within the time required, the Tax Commissioner may impose, assess, and collect a penalty of not more than one thousand dollars, in addition to any other amounts required under the income tax provisions of the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967.

(7) If any person for frivolous or groundless reasons or with the intent to delay or impede the administration of the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967 (a) fails to pay over any tax due and owing under such act, (b) fails to file any return required under such act, or (c) files what purports to be a return but which does not contain sufficient information from which to determine the correctness of the self-assessment of tax or which contains information that indicates that the self-assessment of tax is substantially incorrect, such person shall pay a penalty of five hundred dollars for each occurrence. The penalty provided by this subsection shall be in addition to any other penalties provided by law.

(8) Any person who aids, procures, advises, or assists in the preparation of any return, affidavit, refund claim, or other document with the knowledge that its use will result in the material understatement of the tax liability of another person or the material overstatement of the amount of a refund of another person shall, in addition to other penalties provided by law, pay a penalty of one thousand dollars with respect to each separate return or other document.

(a) For the purposes of this subsection, a person furnishing typing, reproducing, or other mechanical assistance shall not be treated as having aided or assisted in the preparation of such document.

(b) A determination of a material deficiency shall not be sufficient to show that a person has aided or assisted in a material understatement of the tax liability of another person.

(c) The penalty in this subsection shall not be imposed more than once on any person for having aided or assisted in the preparation of documents for the same taxpayer, the same tax, and the same tax period regardless of the number of documents involved.

(d) Such penalty shall apply whether or not the understatement is with the consent of the person authorized to present the return, affidavit, refund claim, or other document.

(9) The additions to the income tax and penalties relating thereto provided by the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967 shall be paid upon notice and demand and shall be assessed, collected, and paid in the same manner as taxes, and any reference in such act to income tax or the tax imposed by the act shall be deemed also to refer to additions to the tax and penalties provided by this section. For purposes of the deficiency procedures provided in section 77-2776, this subsection shall not apply to:

(a) Any addition to tax under subsection (1) or (4) of section 77-2789 except as to that portion attributable to a deficiency;

(b) Any addition to tax for underpayment of estimated tax as provided in subsection (3) of this section; or

(c) Any additional penalty under subsection (6), (7), or (8) of this section.

(10) For purposes of subsections (1) and (2) of this section relating to deficiencies resulting from negligence or fraud, the amount shown as the tax by the taxpayer upon his or her return shall be taken into account in determining the amount of the deficiency only if such return was filed on or before the last day prescribed for the filing of such return determined with regard to any extension of time for such filing.

(11) For purposes of subsections (5) and (6) of this section, the term person shall include an individual, corporation, partnership, or limited liability company, or an officer or employee of any corporation, including a dissolved corporation, or a member or employee of any partnership or limited liability company, who as such officer, employee, or member is under a duty to perform the act in respect of which the violation occurs.

(12) If any person fails to comply with the reporting or filing requirements of sections 77-2772, 77-2775, and 77-2786 or the rules and regulations adopted and promulgated thereunder, the Tax Commissioner may impose, assess, and collect a penalty against such person for each instance of noncompliance of twenty-five percent of the tax due. Such amount shall be in addition to any other penalty, tax, or interest otherwise imposed by law for such noncompliance.

(13) If any nonresident individual provides false information or statements to an employer or payor regarding the portion of his or her wages or payments that are subject to withholding for this state which if used would result in the amount withheld being less than seventy-five percent of his or her income tax liability on such wages or payments or if any employer or payor uses such information when the employer or payor knows such information is false or maintains records which show such information is false, the Tax Commissioner may, in addition to other penalties provided by law, impose, assess, and collect from such individual, payor, or employer the penalties provided in subsections (5) and (6) of this section.

(14) If any employer or payor employing twenty-five or more employees who is required to withhold and pay over income tax imposed by the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967 fails to either (a) withhold at least one and one-half percent of the wages of any employee or (b) obtain satisfactory evidence from the employee justifying a lower withholding amount as required by subdivision (1)(b) of section 77-2753, the Tax Commissioner may impose, assess, and collect a penalty of not more than one thousand dollars per violation.

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