TROY, N.Y. – The State Tax Appeals Tribunal has rejected a petition by General Electric Capital Corp. for a refund of more than $3 million in taxes, ruling that a finance company that becomes assignee to credit card accounts is not entitled to the return of sales taxes when the accounts become worthless debts.
At issue was whether the State is obligated to recognize the assignment of a tax refund claim from an initial vendor to the purchaser. In its decision, the Tribunal recognized the broad discretion afforded to the Commissioner of Taxation and adopted the position of the Division of Taxation that only the vendor who collected the tax may exclude the bad debt from taxable receipts.
