528 A.2d 699 | Pa. Commw. Ct. | 1987
Opinion by
The Petitioner in the case before us is Frederick F. Reed, who is the Recorder of Deeds of Northumberland County. He appeals from an order of the Board of Finance and Revenue (Board) denying his petition for resettlement of his account. We affirm.
The parties have stipulated to the following pertinent facts: On May 7, 1980, an attorney appeared at
The two realty transfer tax checks are the focus of this controversy. Entirely by chance, grantors $5,600 was deposited in the bank account of “Frederick F. Reed, Recorder of Deeds and Agent for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” and cleared in due course. Grantees check had been deposited in Petitioners local transfer tax checking account, but an employee of grantee notified Petitioner on or about May 8, 1980 that the check had been mistakenly drawn on the wrong account, and that payment was being stopped. A replacement check was promised, but, despite numerous telephone calls, never received. Petitioner notified grantee that he was setting a deadline for payment and that he would “void” the transaction if it was not received. On May 27, 1980, having received no payment, Petitioner entered the notation “void” on the deed in the Deed Book and the Index. He then drew a check on the aforementioned account of “Frederick F. Reed, Recorder of Deeds and Agent for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania” in the amount of $5,600 and returned it to the attorney who presented the document.
As a result, the Department of Revenue (Department) issued a Notice of Settlement to Petitioner,
We are faced with a novel situation which requires us to resolve the following question: Does a recorder of deeds have the authority to issue a refund for the Pennsylvania realty transfer tax from the account bearing his name as agent for the Commonwealth by voiding the recording
To answer that question, we turn first to a discussion of the statutory bases of a recorder of deeds’ duties with respect to tax collection. A recorder has a duty “to receive all deeds presented for record, when the same are duly acknowledged as required by law, and record the same.” Section 1 of the Act of July 18, 1941, P.L. 421, 21 P.S. §325.1. Prior to its repeal in 1981, Section 3 of The Realty Transfer Tax Act (Act),
Every person who makes, executes, delivers, accepts or presents for recording any document . . . shall be subject to pay for ... a State tax at the rate of one (1) percentum of the value of the property represented by such document, which*438 state tax shall be payable at the time of making, execution, delivery, acceptance or presenting for recording of such document.
The recorder of deeds serves as agent for the Commonwealth for the collection of realty transfer taxes. Act of November 1, 1971, P.L. 495, as amended, 16 P.S. §11011-6(b); Powell v. Shepard, 381 Pa. 405, 113 A.2d 261 (1955).
In the instant case, Petitioner was presented with a deed
Petitioner characterizes his subsequent actions, as detailed above, as “voiding” the recording. He cites no statutory provisions granting him such authority and we have been unable to locate any. To the contrary, we believe that the actual effect of petitioners action was to grant a refund of the transfer tax, and that such is clearly beyond the scope of his authority.
It has long been the law in this Commonwealth that taxes voluntarily paid cannot be refunded except as provided by statute. Calvert Distillers Corp. v. Board of Finance and Revenue, 376 Pa. 476, 103 A.2d 668 (1954);
The Legislature has seen fit to provide for a statutory scheme governing tax refunds. Section 503(a) of the Fiscal Code (Code), Act of April 9, 1929, P.L. 343, as amended, 72 P.S. §503(a). In relevant part, that section provides:
The Board of Finance and Revenue shall have the power, and its duty shall be ... to hear and determine any petition for the refund of taxes . . . paid to the Commonwealth and to which the Commonwealth is not rightfully or equitably entitled and, upon the allowance of any such petition, to refund such taxes. . . .
(Emphasis added.) Thus, it is for the Board to determine whether taxes paid, including realty transfer taxes (see e.g., Sabatine) are to be refunded. In making such a refund, Petitioner has circumvented the statutory procedure.
Petitioner attempts to justify his actions on the following grounds: His duty to collect the transfer taxes, both state and local, arose when the document was presented for recording. Section 3 of the Act, formerly 72 P. S. §3285. However, Section 2 of the Act of August 21, 1953,
One final aspect of this case deserves mention. It is a stipulated feet that chance alone determined which $5,600 check was deposited in the state, and which in the local transfer tax account. The petition before us, however, only concerns the grantors check, deposited in the state account. Our decision is necessarily confined to the factual scenario of a valid check voluntarily presented for and accepted, by the duly authorized collec
The decision of the Board is affirmed.
Order
And Now, this 16th day of July, 1987, the order of the Board of Finance and Revenue, dated September 28, 1983, is hereby affirmed. Exceptions may be filed within thirty (30) days of the date of entry of this Order. If no exceptions are entered, the Chief Clerk may enter judgment for the Commonwealth.
While the Commonwealth characterizes this action as an attempt to void the conveyance, Petitioner maintains that it was the recording which he voided. In light of our disposition of this issue, that the taxable event occurred when the deed was presented for recording, we need not address this discrepancy, and, for convenience, refer to Petitioners action as voiding the recording.
Act of December 27, 1951, P.L. 1742, as amended, formerly 72 P.S. §3285, repealed by the Act of May 5, 1981, P.L. 36. A similar provision is now found in Section 1102-C of the Act of March 4, 1971, P.L. 6, as amended, added by Act of May 5, 1981, P.L. 36, as amended, 72 P.S. §8102-C.
A deed was expressly included in the Acts definition of “document.” Section 2 of the Act, formerly 72 P.S. §3284, repealed by the Act of May 5, 1981, P.L. 36. A similar definition is now found in Section 1101-C of the Act of March 4, 1971, as amended, added by Act of May 5, 1981, P. L. 36, as amended, 72 P. S. §8101-C.
P.L. 1254, formerly 16 P.S. §11414, repealed by the Act of April 8, 1982, P. L. 310. A similar provision is now found in Section 2 of the Act of April 8, 1982, P.L. 310, 42 P.S. §21052.