STATE OF NEVADA and NEVADA TAX COMMISSION, Appellants, v. OBEXER & SON, INC., Respondent, 99 Nev. 233

Summary

The seller collected Nevada sales taxes on sales to Nevada customers in California. The seller then paid California taxes on the sales. Appellants denied a refund and the seller brought the instant action. Both sides filed motions for summary judgment, the trial court ruled for the seller, and appellants sought review. The court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding that appellants were not able to impose either a sale or a use tax on the transactions. The trial court erred, however, in holding that their inability to impose the taxes determined whether a refund was due. Actions to recover taxes were equitable and the burden was on the taxpayer to show that a refund was due. Statutes which permitted tax refunds only applied when the taxpayer paid the tax himself. Here, the seller collected taxes from his customers and did not suffer any injury personally. He was thus not entitled to a refund even if the taxes were wrongly paid. The court ruled, however, that because the ...