Tax‑hearing recording dispute continued for in‑camera review; DGO will issue written decision

The director continued Appeal No. 2026‑129, Michaels v. Utah State Tax Commission, to permit in‑camera review of video recordings of an administrative property‑tax hearing.

Petitioners (through counsel Miss Hackford) sought a transcript or recording of testimony from Michelle Michaels, arguing the testimony was non‑commercial and necessary for pending federal litigation. The tax commission (Aaron Wade) cited tax confidentiality statutes and rules governing commercial information and property‑tax hearings, and Ensign Learning (a party in the underlying tax matter) submitted a letter objecting to release of certain material.

The commission said it holds recordings (not a transcript) of the hearing and that redacting video excerpts would be burdensome; the commission proposed an in‑camera or secure shared‑drive review so the director could assess whether commercial tax information appears and whether redactions would protect confidentiality. The director asked the commission to provide the recordings on a secure shared drive for his review. He will examine the materials in camera, consider the statutes and rule arguments (including tax confidentiality and commercial‑information protections), and issue a written decision without further hearing. The parties agreed this approach was appropriate.

Why it matters: tax confidentiality laws limit disclosure of certain commercial or tax return information; the director’s in‑camera review will determine whether the recording contains protected information or can be redacted and released.