Pendergast v. Massachusetts Department of Revenue (In re Pendergast)Pendergast v. Massachusetts Department of Revenue (In re Pendergast)
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION
I. INTRODUCTION
The matter before the Court is the “Massachusetts Department of Revenue’s Motion for Summary Judgment” (the “Motion for Summary Judgment”) filed by the defendant the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (the “MDOR”) and the “Opposition to Motion for Summary Judgment filed Massachusetts Department of Revenue” (the “Opposition”) filed by the plaintiff Timothy P. Pendergast (the “Debtor”). The Debtor filed this adversary proceeding seeking a determination that certain income taxes are dischargeable, while the MDOR filed counterclaims asserting that the taxes in question are excepted from discharge pursuant to
II. BACKGROUND
The facts necessary to decide this matter are not in dispute. On October 5, 2009, the Debtor filed his Massachusetts income tax returns for each of the tax years 2001 through 2005, as well as 2007 (the “Periods at Issue”). All returns for the Periods at Issue were overdue. Moreover, with respect to the tax years 2002 through 2005, the Debtor filed his returns after the
The Debtor filed a voluntary Chapter 7 petition on May 22, 2012. On “Schedule F — Creditors Holding Unsecured Nonpri-ority Claims,” (“Schedule F”), the Debtor listed outstanding Massachusetts income taxes for the Periods at Issue totaling $22,321.76. As of October 12, 2012, the undisputed amount of the Debtor’s outstanding tax liability for the Periods at Issue was $30,131.15. On August 21, 2012, the Debtor received a discharge.
On August 24, 2012, only three days after the discharge entered, the Debtor commenced the present adversary proceeding seeking a determination that the income tax debt for the Periods at Issue was discharged. On September 21, 2012, the MDOR filed an answer denying the allegations of the Debtor’s complaint and asserting counterclaims that the taxes in question are excepted from discharge pursuant to
The MDOR filed the Motion for Summary Judgment on February 22, 2013. On April 2, 2013, the Debtor filed the Opposition. I heard the Motion for Summary Judgment on April 5, 2013, and, after the conclusion of oral arguments, took the matter under advisement. On April 18, 2013, the MDOR filed a supplemental memorandum in further support of the Motion for Summary Judgment.
III. POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES
A. The MDOR
The MDOR argues that the definition of “return” provided in the “hanging paragraph” of
In support of this construction of the statute, the MDOR relies on a plethora of cases that have held a late-filed return can never qualify as a “return” for purposes of
Alternatively, the MDOR asserts that even if I were to follow In re Brown/Gonzalez, a majority of courts have held that post-assessment tax returns do not qualify as “returns” for purposes of
B. The Debtor
The Debtor argues that I should adopt Judge Hoffman’s reasoning in In re Brown/Gonzalez. Relying on that case, he states that a late filed return still serves as a formal assessment pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 62C, § 26(a).
IV. DISCUSSION
A. The Summary Judgment Standard
Pursuant to
B. Nondischargeability of Taxes under
(a) A discharge under section 727, 1141, 1228(a), 1228(b), or 1328(b) of this title does not discharge an individual debtor from any debt—
(1) for a tax or a customs duty—
(B) with respect to which a return, or equivalent report or notice, if required—
(i) was not filed or given; or
(ii) was filed or given after the date on which such return, report, or notice was last due, under applicable law or under any extension, and after two years before the date of the filing of the petition ...10
Put simply, subsection (i) of
In 2005, BAPCPA amended
For purposes of this subsection, the term “return” means a return that satisfies the requirements of applicable non-bankruptcy law (including applicable filing requirements). Such term includes a return prepared pursuant tosection 6020(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or similar State or local law, or a written stipulation to a judgment or a final order entered by a nonbankruptcy tribunal, but does not include a return made pursuant tosection 6020(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or a similar State or local law.14
The first part of the first sentence of the hanging paragraph is easy enough — a “return” for purposes of
Under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 62C, § 6, [ejvery individual inhabitant of the commonwealth who receives or accrues during the taxable year Massachusetts gross income, as defined in section two of chapter sixty-two, in excess of eight thousand dollars shall make a return of such income....18
Section 6(c) of Chapter 62C further requires that “[ejxcept as otherwise provided, returns under this section shall be made on or before the fifteenth day of the fourth month following the close of each taxable year,” typically April 15th.
To determine the meaning statutory provisions, the Supreme Court has repeatedly explained that
when the statute’s language is plain, the sole function of the courts — at least where the disposition required by the text is not absurd — is to enforce it according to its terms.21
I do not start “from the premise that this language is imprecise,” but instead must “assume that ... Congress said what it meant.”
At the risk of sounding overly simplistic, the filing deadline contained in Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 62C, § 6(c) would seem to be exactly the type of “filing requirements” to which the parenthetical phrase applies. The “filing requirements,” to the extent that such term was separately emphasized in the parenthetical phrase, is clearly distinct from the issue of whether the attributes of any particular form qualify as a “return” under state or federal law.
Admittedly, other courts within this district have concluded that this reading “does too much violence to the statute.”
Unfortunately, I must respectfully disagree with my colleagues. The fact that
Y. CONCLUSION
In light of the foregoing, I will enter an order granting the Motion for Summary Judgment.
Notes
. The Debtor disputes this fact in the Opposition, but the exhibits attached to the Motion for Summary Judgment clearly reflect that the Debtor was assessed a tax for the years 2002 through 2005 prior to October 5, 2009. See Exhibit 12, Docket No. 17-3. In any event, whether the assessments occurred pri- or to the filing of the returns is not germane to my ruling.
.
. See, e.g., McCoy v. Mississippi Tax Comm'n (In re McCoy),
. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 62C, § 6(c).
. Brown v. Massachusetts Department of Revenue (In re Brown)/Gonzalez v. Massachusetts Department of Revenue (In re Gonzalez),
. In re Brown/Gonzalez,
.
. Triangle Trading Co. v. Robroy Indus., Inc.,
. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248,
.
. Id.
. Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, Pub.L. 109-8, Title III, § 302, 119 Stat. 23 (2005).
. Beard v. Comm'r,
.
.
Preparation of return by Secretary. If any person shall fail to make a return required*13 by this title or by regulations prescribed thereunder, but shall consent to disclose all information necessary for the preparation thereof, then, and in that case, the Secretary may prepare such return, which, being signed by such person, may be received by the Secretary as the return of such person.
.
(b) Execution of return by Secretary.—
(1) Authority of Secretary to execute return. — If any person fails to make any return required by any internal revenue law or regulation made thereunder at the time prescribed therefor, or makes, willfully or otherwise, a false or fraudulent return, the Secretary shall make such return from his own knowledge and from such information as he can obtain through testimony or otherwise....
. Id.
. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 62C, § 6(a).
. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 62C, § 6(c) (emphasis added).
.
. Hartford Underwriters Ins. Co. v. Union Planters Bank, N. A.,
. United States v. LaBonte,
. TRW Inc. v. Andrews,
. See In re McCoy,
. See In re McCoy,
. This disquiet is exemplified by the MDOR’s supplemental brief:
In the following summary and at other places in this memorandum MDOR will refer to the documents filed by the debtors as "returns.” This terminology is adopted for convenience, and should not obscure MDOR’s argument that these documents do not qualify as income tax returns for the purposes of11 U.S.C. § 523 .
Supplemental Memorandum in Support of Massachusetts Department of Revenue's Motions for Summary Judgment, Docket No. 27 at 3 n. 1. Ultimately, the definition of "return” in
. In re Brown/Gonzalez,
. Martin v. United States of America (In re Martin),
. In re Brown/Gonzalez,
. Id.
. Id.
. Perkins v. Massachusetts Dep’t of Rev. (In re Perkins), No. 12-3030, slip op. at 1 (Bankr. D.Mass. Apr. 8, 2013).
. I note that in addition to returns prepared pursuant to
. In re McCoy,
. Dewsnup v. Timm,
As the bankruptcy court in this case explained, "[u]nder§ 6020(a) of the [Internal Revenue Code], the Secretary may prepare a ‘substitute’ return based on information voluntarily provided by the taxpayer. In contrast,§ 6020(b) of the [Internal Revenue Code] comes into play when there is little or no cooperation from the taxpayer.” McCoy v. Miss. State Tax Comm’n (In re McCoy), No. 07-02998-EE,2009 WL 2835258 , at *7 (Bankr.S.D.Miss. Aug. 31, 2009) (emphasis added). In passing§ 523(a) , Congress made clear that "[i]n general, tax claims which are nondischargeable, despite a lack of priority, are those to whose staleness the debtor contributed by some wrongdoing or serious fault....” S.Rep. No. 95-989 (1978), reprinted in 1978 U.S.C.C.A.N. 5787, 5800. Congress, when later drafting§ 523(a)(*) to differentiate between§ 6020(a) and§ 6020(b) returns, likely wanted to reward taxpayers who cooperated with the I.R.S. See H.R.Rep. No. 109-31 (2005), reprinted in 2005 U.S.C.C.A.N. 88, 92 (explaining that BAPCPA was passed, in part, to address the problem of the “bankruptcy system ha[ving] loopholes and incentives that allow and — sometimes—even encourage opportunistic personal filings and abuse”). All this is consonant with the pre-BAPCPA test’s emphasis " 'that where a fiduciary, in good faith, makes what it deems the appropriate return, which discloses all of the data from which the tax ... can be computed,’ a proper return has been filed.” Hindenlang,164 F.3d at 1033 (quoting Germantown Trust Co.,309 U.S. at 309 ,60 S.Ct. 566 ). We see no "major change” from pre-BAPCPA practices by reading§ 523(a)(*) to generally exclude late state*16 tax returns from the definition of return for bankruptcy discharge purposes, while differentiating between§ 6020(a) and§ 6020(b) returns.
Id. at 931-932. Ultimately, I am unable to discern a logical alternative that gives meaning to the parenthetical phrase regardless of whether it represents a major departure from pre-BAPCPA law.
.