Tax refund case to be reheard in open session

CARSON CITY -- A multi-million dollar tax refund request that dates back several years will get a fresh review next week by the Nevada Tax Commission.

The refund, now worth about $70 million with interest, is being sought by the utility Southern California Edison regarding the operation of its now closed Mohave Generating Station near Laughlin.

The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday in Las Vegas. It will be in public and broadcast to the capital.

A final vote by the commission might not come until December.

The Tax Commission in 2005 voted privately to award the sales and use tax refund to the company. But the vote prompted a legal battle over whether the panel had to follow the requirements of the state open meetings law.

The Nevada Supreme Court earlier this year ruled the commission did violate the law and rendered the refund vote void, requiring a new hearing.

The original refund was worth about $40 million.

Thom Sheets, chairman of the commission, said the panel on Tuesday will consider all the arguments by the parties, including the staff of the Tax Department, the position of the utility and issues raised by two local governments that have joined in the matter: Henderson and Clark County.

Witnesses may also be called by the parties.

The utility will then be given a chance to file a reply brief in October if it chooses to do so, Sheets said. If a reply is requested, the commission won't vote on the request until December, he said. If no reply brief is sought, the commission could vote on the refund Tuesday, Sheets said.

There is a question of whether interest on any refund is appropriate, and if so, from what date interest should begin, he said. That issue is expected to be addressed at the hearing as well.

Some members of the commission criticized the Supreme Court decision issued in April that found its actions in 2005 violated the open meetings law, but they declined to seek reconsideration of the matter before the court.

The open meetings law dispute began when the attorney general's office sued the commission on the closed-door deliberations and vote.

A Carson City district judge ruled in October 2006 that the commission could meet in closed session to consider taxpayer appeals because of a separate state law providing for confidentiality of proprietary information.

The Tax Commission then voted a second time to award the refund, even though the open meetings law case was on appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court then reversed the lower court in its unanimous decision, voiding the vote to approve the refund.

The court said the Tax Commission had the right under Nevada law to close its meetings involving Edison, but only to receive confidential evidence. But evaluating evidence that was not confidential, along with its deliberations and vote, were required to be done in open session, the court said.

Southern California Edison has waived any confidentiality rights for the current hearing.