Deroche

The Bankruptcy Code provides that “an excise tax on ... a transaction occurring during the three years immediately preceding the date of the filing of the [bankruptcy] petition” is not dischargeable in bankruptcy. 11 U.S.C. § 507 ^®®©. 1 *1291 also 11 U.S.C. § 523 (a)(1)(A). In this case, an employer failed to carry workers’ compensation insurance, and an injured employee was compensated directly from a “Special Fund” maintained by the Industrial Commission of Arizona (“Commission”). Under Arizona law, an employer who has failed to carry insurance is required to reimburse the Special Fund for compensation paid to an injured employee, plus penalties and interest.

We have previously held that reimbursement of the Special Fund is an “excise tax” within the meaning of § 507(a)(8)(E)(ii). See (In re Camilli), Industrial Comm’n of Ariz. v. Camilli, 94 F.3d 1330, 1333-34 (9th Cir.1996). In this ease, we are asked to decide the date of the “transaction” on which this excise tax is based in order to determine the three-year period of non-dischargeability. We hold that a “transaction” is the act of employing a worker without carrying the required insurance when the worker is injured. The…