Vermont Statutes Title 32 Sec. 5936
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 32 Sec. 5936
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Claimant agency: means any unit of State government, including agencies, departments, boards, commissions, authorities, or public corporations, including the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation and a collection agency under contract with the Court Administrator pursuant to 4 V. See
- Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Taxes appointed under section 3101 of this title or any officer or employee of the Department authorized by the Commissioner (directly or indirectly by one or more redelegations of authority) to perform the functions mentioned or described in this chapter. See
- Court: means a Superior Court or the Judicial Bureau. See
- Debt: means any obligation to pay a sum of money to a claimant agency, the amount of which is fixed by agreement between the debtor and the claimant agency or by operation of law. See
- Debtor: means any individual owing a debt to a claimant agency or owing any support debt that may be collected by the Department for Children and Families. See
- Refund: means any individual's State income tax refund under chapter 151 of this title and any payment due a claimant under chapter 154 of this title. See
- Taxpayer: means a person obligated to file a return with or pay or remit any amount to this State under this chapter. See
§ 5936. Hearing procedure
(a) If a debtor applies in writing for a hearing before a claimant agency within 30 days of the date of mailing of the notice described in subsection 5934(c) of this chapter, the claimant agency shall conduct a hearing to determine the validity and amount of debt owed by the debtor. The hearing shall be held in accordance with 3 V.S.A. §§ 809 through 813.
(b) The final determination of any claimant agency regarding the validity and amount of any debt may be appealed within 30 days to the Civil Division of the Superior Court of the unit in which the taxpayer resides, except that if the claimant agency is the Office of Child Support, the appeal shall be to the Family Division of the Superior Court. Upon appeal, the provisions of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure or the Vermont Rules for Family Proceedings, as appropriate, shall apply, and the court shall proceed de novo to determine the debt owed.
(c) Upon conclusion of the hearings and appeals granted under this section, and upon notification by the Commissioner of the result of any appeal under section 5935 of this chapter, a claimant agency shall notify each taxpayer whose refund is set off that a final setoff has occurred. The notice shall include the amount of refund transferred to the claimant agency, the amount of debt finally determined to be owed to the claimant agency, the amount of refund, if any, returned to a non-debtor spouse, and the amount of any outstanding balance due the debtor after final setoff. The claimant agency shall disburse any outstanding balance due the debtor along with the notice of the final setoff. (Added 1981, No. 228 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 4, 1982; amended 1997, No. 63, § 20, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 217.)