As provided by §39-21-103, §39-21-104, and §29-2-106.1, C.R.S., a formal administrative hearing before the Director of Revenue must be allowed for taxpayers who timely dispute a notice of deficiency or rejection of refund claim. To help reduce the workload of formal hearings, the taxpayer may have the opportunity to hold a pre-hearing conference with a tax professional from the Tax Conferee Section.
Tax Conferee Review
For administrative efficiency and as authorized by §39-21-112(1), C.R.S., the taxpayer's written protest will be reviewed by the Tax Conferee Section prior to the scheduling of any formal hearing. Suggested changes listed in the protest may be accepted or rejected based on whether they are valid or applicable. An informal conference may be scheduled to discuss the protest and to allow the submitting of additional evidence in support of the protest. The informal conference does not waive the taxpayer's right to a formal administrative hearing. In the event the protest is not resolved by the Tax Conferee, the protest will be forwarded to the Executive Director for formal hearing.
The Tax Conferee Section receives and attempts to resolve tax protests or lawsuits involving tax adjustments made by the various taxing divisions within the Colorado Department of Revenue. These can include income tax, withholding, sales, use, cigarette and tobacco products, gasoline and special fuel, severance, special district and statutory city and county taxes. The pre-hearing conference provides another review of issues protested before going on to a formal hearing. These pre-hearing conferences have led to a resolution rate of about 95%.