Action to collect delinquent amount; procedures; evidence; satisfaction of amount; trust fund; when constituted

(1) Except as provided in section 77-3904 , at any time within three years after any amount of tax to be collected under any tax program administered by the Tax Commissioner or Commissioner of Labor is assessed or within ten years after the last filing for record as set forth in the Uniform State Tax Lien Registration and Enforcement Act, the Tax Commissioner or Commissioner of Labor may bring an action in the courts of this state, any other state, or the United States in the name of the people of the State of Nebraska to collect the delinquent amount together with penalties, any additions to such tax, costs, and interest.

(2)(a) The Attorney General shall prosecute the action on behalf of the Tax Commissioner, (b) the Commissioner of Labor shall be represented in an action under the act as provided in section 48-667 , and (c) the rules of civil procedure relating to service of summons, pleadings, proofs, trials, and appeals shall be applicable to the proceedings.

(3) In the action, a writ of attachment may issue, and no bond or affidavit previous to the issuing of the attachment shall be required.

(4) In the action, a certificate by the Tax Commissioner or Commissioner of Labor showing the delinquency shall be prima facie evidence of the determination of such tax or the amount of such tax, the delinquency of the amounts set forth, and the compliance by the Tax Commissioner or Commissioner of Labor with all provisions of the applicable tax program which he or she administers in relation to the computation and determination of the amounts set forth.

(5) The tax amounts required to be paid by any person under any tax program administered by the Tax Commissioner or Commissioner of Labor together with any interest, penalties, and additions to such tax shall be satisfied first in any of the following cases: When the person is insolvent; when the person makes a voluntary assignment of his or her assets; when the estate of the person in the hands of executors, personal representatives, administrators, or heirs is insufficient to pay all the debts due from the deceased; or when the estate and effects of an absconding, concealed, or absent person required to pay any amount under any tax program administered by the Tax Commissioner or Commissioner of Labor are levied upon by process of law.

(6) Any tax which by law must be deducted and withheld by an employer or payor or is collected by a retailer or any other designated person as agent for the State of Nebraska on any transaction governed by a tax program administered by the Tax Commissioner or Commissioner of Labor shall constitute a trust fund in the hands of the employer, payor, or retailer or such other designated person and shall be owned by the state as of the time the tax is deducted and withheld or is owing to the employer, payor, or retailer or such other designated person.