Ohio Tax - Manufacturers' Education Council

2011 Ohio Tax Conference
Ohio Commercial Activity Tax (CAT) Audit Experiences
Appendix A
audit period. However, the taxpayer can register as a consolidated elected taxpayer for future
periods if it so chooses.
Several taxpayers who are under audit have requested a retroactive consolidation election and the
Department has reviewed each request on a case by case basis when making its determination. In
general, the requests will be denied at the Audit Division level. In contrast, taxpayers who
voluntarily come forward (not under audit) and request retroactive treatment from the CAT
Division typically get retroactive treatment.
70. Non-registered person with nexus that is part of a registered group
The Department is taking the position that there is no statute of limitations for assessing an
unregistered person that the Department determines has nexus with Ohio even though the person
is part of a group (combined/consolidated elected) that is currently registered and filing returns.
This position also applies if the person would be part of a combined/consolidated elected group
with a person who has registered and is filing returns as a separate taxpayer.
71. Successor Liability
The Department contacted a taxpayer for audit and was told that the taxpayer’s assets had been
sold to another unrelated company. The Department then contacted the purchaser and inquired if
any of the purchase price was set aside to cover the amount of CAT due by the seller. No money
was set aside. As a result, the purchaser was assessed the CAT liability as a successor in
accordance with R. C. 5751.10.
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