On March 1, 2009, the Michigan Department of Treasury (Treasury) issued a notice reminding taxpayers that there is no Michigan Business Tax (MBT) form comparable to the Single Business Tax (SBT) Form C-8030.  Under the former SBT, a taxpayer who was not required to file an SBT return was required to file a C-8030 Notice of No SBT Return Required. Under the Michigan Business Tax, a taxpayer with apportioned or allocated gross receipts less than $350,000 is not required to file a return.  Treasury says it is not necessary to file a notice that an MBT return will not be filed.

If the taxpayer's allocated or apportioned gross receipts are $350,000 or less, should the taxpayer file a MBT return?  I say YES.  If the taxpayer believes they have no MBT liability, they should file a return to start the running of the four year statute of limitations.  If the return is not filed, Treasury is not bound by the four year limitation.

Under the old SBT, there was a lot of confusion as to whether the filing of the Form C-8030 constituted a return and thereby started the running of the four year statute of limitations.  This confusion was stopped by elimination of the Form C-8030.  With no other comparable form for the MBT, the taxpayer will need to file a complete return unless the taxpayer qualifies to file the Form 4583.