Terms Used In Iowa Code > Chapter 421 - Department of Revenue

• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• 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.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Audited partnership: means a partnership subject to a final federal partnership adjustment resulting from a partnership level audit. See Iowa Code 422.25A
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Business: means any trade, occupation, activity, or enterprise engaged in for the purpose of selling or distributing tobacco products in this state. See Iowa Code 453A.42
• Child: includes child by adoption. See Iowa Code 4.1
• clerk: means clerk of the court in which the action or proceeding is brought or is pending; and the words "clerk's office" mean the office of that clerk. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Direct partner: means a person that holds an interest directly in a partnership or pass-through entity. See Iowa Code 422.25A
• Director: means the director of the department of revenue. See Iowa Code 453A.42
• Distributor: means any and each of the following:
   a. See Iowa Code 453A.42
• Electronic funds transfer: The transfer of money between accounts by consumer electronic systems-such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and electronic payment of bills-rather than by check or cash. (Wire transfers, checks, drafts, and paper instruments do not fall into this category.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• executor: includes administrator, and the term "administrator" includes executor, where the subject matter justifies such use. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Federal partnership adjustment: means a change to an item or amount required to be determined under the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations thereunder that is used by a partnership and its direct and indirect partners to compute state tax owed for the reviewed year where such change results from a partnership level audit or an administrative adjustment request. See Iowa Code 422.25A
• Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Final determination date: means any one of the following dates:
   (1) In the case of a federal partnership adjustment that arises from a partnership level audit, the first day on which no federal adjustments arising from that audit remain to be finally determined, whether by internal revenue service decision with respect to which all rights of appeal have been waived or exhausted, by agreement, or, if appealed or contested, by a final decision with respect to which all rights of appeal have been waived or exhausted. See Iowa Code 422.25A
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• good cause: shall mean those grounds for change specified in Iowa Code 421.20
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Indirect partner: means a partner in a partnership or pass-through entity where such partnership or pass-through entity itself holds an interest directly, or through another indirect partner, in a partnership or pass-through entity. See Iowa Code 422.25A
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Internet: means the federated international system that is composed of allied electronic communication networks linked by telecommunication channels, that uses standardized protocols, and that facilitates electronic communication services, including but not limited to use of the world wide web; the transmission of electronic mail or messages; the transfer of files and data or other electronic information; and the transmission of voice, image, and video. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Internet site: means a specific location on the internet that is determined by internet protocol numbers, by a domain name, or by both, including but not limited to domain names that use the designations ". See Iowa Code 4.1
• Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Magistrate: means a judicial officer appointed under chapter 602, article 6, part 4. See Iowa Code 4.1
• month: means a calendar month, and the word "year" and the abbreviation "A. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Owner: means any of the following:
   a. See Iowa Code 425A.2
• Partner: means a person that holds an interest, directly or indirectly, in a partnership or pass-through entity. See Iowa Code 422.25A
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Partnership: means an entity subject to taxation under subchapter K of the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations thereunder and includes but is not limited to a syndicate, group, pool, joint venture, or other unincorporated organization through or by means of which any business, financial operation, or venture is carried on and which is not, within the meaning of this chapter, a trust, estate, or corporation. See Iowa Code 422.25A
• Partnership level audit: means an examination by the internal revenue service at the partnership level pursuant to subchapter C of title 26, subtitle F, chapter 63, of the Internal Revenue Code, as enacted by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, Pub. See Iowa Code 422.25A
• Person: means any individual, firm, association, partnership, joint stock company, joint adventure, corporation, trustee, agency, or receiver, or any legal representative of any of the foregoing. See Iowa Code 453A.42
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• prime rate: means the prime rate charged by banks on short-term business loans, as determined by the board of governors of the federal reserve system and published in the federal reserve bulletin. See Iowa Code 421.7
• Probate: Proving a will
• property: includes personal and real property. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• public or private utility company: means a public utility, cable, video, or satellite television company, cellular telephone company, or internet service provider. See Iowa Code 421.17
• real property: include lands, tenements, hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein, equitable as well as legal. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Retailer: means any person engaged in the business of selling tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products to ultimate consumers. See Iowa Code 453A.42
• Rule: includes "regulation". See Iowa Code 4.1
• Sale: means any transfer, exchange, or barter, in any manner or by any means whatsoever, for a consideration, and includes and means all sales made by any person. See Iowa Code 453A.42
• seal: shall include an impression upon the paper alone, or upon wax, a wafer affixed to the paper, or an official stamp of a notarial officer as provided in chapter 9B. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Signature: includes an electronic signature as defined in section 554D. See Iowa Code 4.1
• state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• taxing district: include drainage districts and levee districts. See Iowa Code 421.17
• Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Trustor: The person who makes or creates a trust. Also known as the grantor or settlor.
• United States: includes all the states. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Use: means the exercise of any right or power incidental to the ownership of tobacco products. See Iowa Code 453A.42
• year: means twelve consecutive months. See Iowa Code 4.1