SalesAndUseTax.com

SalesAndUseTax.com: Austin, TX June 3, 2009.

The sales tax consulting firm SalesAndUseTax.com announces the opening of its Austin, Texas location to better represent its Texas sales tax audit defense clients.  Aaron C. Giles, President of SalesAndUseTax.com said, “We are excited about the benefits that will accrue to our clients as we take this necessary step to expand our presence in the Texas sales tax audit defense arena.”  Giles believes that having a location nearby the Comptroller’s office will make the audit defense service his firm offers even more effective than it has been in the past.

SalesAndUseTax.com specializes in providing sales and use tax consulting services to its clients.  SalesAndUseTax.com is fresh off a multi-state reverse audit victory resulting in a refund of over $4M to a client.  SalesAndUseTax.com assists companies through an impending state sales tax audit in several ways:

Audit Defense Services - SalesAndUseTax.com acts as the liaison with the state auditor working the audit.  This allows clients to reap the benefits of SalesAndUseTax.com’s expertise.  SalesAndUseTax.com deals with auditors on a daily basis.  As a result, its staff is familiar with strategies to manage auditors and negotiate with them to receive more favorable treatment.  SalesAndUseTax.com’s trademarked audit defense service consists of the following two components:

o Pre-Audit Compliance Review - Prior to the audit beginning SalesAndUseTax.com will analyze and determine areas of concern for its client.  Armed with that knowledge, along with its clients SalesAndUseTax.com will strategize how best to deal with deficiencies if they exist or maximize the benefit of refunds due.  Specific strategies exist to eliminate or reduce penalty and interest if a deficiency is found.

o Reverse Audit - The best practice is to immediately schedule a reverse audit when a company has been notified of an impending state audit.  A reverse audit is a detailed review of a company’s records to determine if any sales tax refund opportunities exist.  SalesAndUseTax.com’s firsthand experience demonstrates that most companies overpay sales and use tax.

Managed Audits – The state of Texas has a program that allows some companies to perform their own audit rather than sending a state auditor to perform the review.  In order to qualify for this program, however, the company must meet certain requirements and even then admittance to the program is limited.  If a company can qualify, the benefits are significant.  First, the state of Texas will waive penalty and interest from any deficiencies.  Penalty and interest accrue at 25% of any deficiencies.  Second, performing an internal audit allows companies to better manage areas where they may have exposure due to incomplete records or a change in accounting systems.  SalesAndUseTax.com helps companies qualify for this program.

Post Audit Review - If the state has recently completed an audit of a company, SalesAndUseTax.com will review the audit to see it can help the company recover money paid to the state.

“Generally, we find that companies are underestimating the breadth of the exemptions for which they qualify,” Giles said.  “Additionally, states are becoming increasingly aggressive in their auditing techniques in these challenging economic times,” according to Giles.  A combination of these two factors frequently results in overpayments of sales and use tax, penalties and interest during a state sales tax audit.  While companies are tempted to handle the sales tax audit internally, turning to an expert for help can drastically reduce the likelihood of any overpayments. 

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