N.M. court rules against Val Kilmer in tax case

N.M. court rules againstVal Kilmer in tax case
SANTA FE, N.M. -- The state court of appeals has ruled against actor Val Kilmer and his ex-wife, actress Joanne Whalley, in a dispute over a tax refund of more than $300,000 sought by the couple.
The court said Tuesday the Taxation and Revenue Department had no authority to act on the refund claim because the time period for doing so had expired.
Kilmer, who stars in Oliver Stone's upcoming film, "Alexander," has a ranch near Santa Fe.
The refund claim was for $304,217 in personal income taxes paid for the year 1995. The couple said they were due the refund because Whalley -- who had filed for divorce -- had moved to California in the latter part of the year.
The claim was filed at the end of 1999, after California tax officials made a preliminary determination that Whalley had been a California resident as of August 1995.
The amended 1995 New Mexico return claiming the refund, which was filed by the couple's accountant, wasn't processed because the department lost it.
In addition, for three months in early 2000 the agency decided to delay work on prior-year claims while it caught up with processing the current returns.
Under state law, if the department doesn't approve or deny a claim within 120 days, taxpayers then have 90 days to either file a protest or go to court. Kilmer and Whalley did neither, and the 210-day window for the department to act on a claim expired, the court said, upholding a department hearing officer's ruling.
The Legislature "intended a clear and definite outer limit, of 210 days, on the department's authority to act on a claim for refund," the court held.
While the court said it was "sympathetic to taxpayers' plight" and didn't approve of the department's conduct, it rejected the claim that the couple's accountant had been misled in conversations with department employees.
Appeal of tabloidspuzzles Witherspoonk
LOS ANGELES -- Reese Witherspoon doesn't understand the appeal of tabloid magazines.
"I can't believe somebody is so interested -- particularly in all the pictures of me at the grocery store or at preschool," says Witherspoon, who stars as Becky Sharp in Mira Nair's new film, "Vanity Fair."
"It's like every day I'm wearing the same sweat suit. It's like, 'Is this really interesting? And to who?"' she told reporters recently, according to AP Radio.
The "Legally Blonde" actress says she and her husband, actor Ryan Phillippe, try to laugh at the photos and stories. "It's pretty funny, and it's amazing the kind of things that people can make up in their minds," she says.
Witherspoon and Phillippe, who appeared together in 1999's "Cruel Intentions," have two children -- daughter Ava, born in 1999, and son Deacon, born last year.
"I'm busy with the kids and I want to spend all the time I have with them," she says. "I have to be very particular about what I do because I only do one movie a year."
Witherspoon, 28, recently has been filming "Walk the Line." She plays June Carter, wife of country music legend Johnny Cash. Joaquin Phoenix plays Cash.
Today's birthdays
Dancer-actress Marge Champion is 85. Jazz musician Horace Silver is 76. Former Sen. Alan K. Simpson, R-Wyo., is 73. Former Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth is 67. Rhythm and blues singer Sam Gooden (The Impressions) is 65. Singer Jimmy Clanton is 64. Rhythm and blues singer Rosalind Ashford (Martha & amp; the Vandellas) is 61. Singer Joe Simon is 61. Football Hall-of-Famer Terry Bradshaw is 56. Actor Mark Harmon is 53. Tennis player Jimmy Connors is 52. Actress Linda Purl is 49. Rock musician Jerry Augustyniak (10,000 Maniacs) is 46. Country musician Paul Deakin (The Mavericks) is 45. Actor Keanu Reeves is 40. Actress Kristen Cloke is 36. Actress Salma Hayek is 36. Actress Cynthia Watros is 36. Rhythm and blues singer K-Ci is 35. Singer Tony Thompson is 29. Rock musician Sam Rivers (Limp Bizkit) is 27.