 TAX REFUND STUDIES: Government tax audits are designed to find tax underpayments. Our refund studies are designed to look for and recover tax overpayments. We do this by helping you take advantage of the hundreds of deductions, credits, and other incentives that states have enacted. Our studies often result in future tax savings that further reduce a company's overall tax burden. Our previous refund studies have resulted in many six figure refunds and ongoing tax savings.
Click on the accompanying link to learn more about refund studies and to see examples of past success stories. |
 AUDIT REPRESENTATION: State and Local governments are aggressively seeking to increase revenues through more audits. Unfortunately, auditors often make mistakes based upon faulty reliance on out-of-date rules and policies. Many tax rules are out-of-date with recent tax law changes or court decisions but often form the basis auditors use to determine when a taxpayer has underpaid tax. We try to stay on top of current legislative and judicial changes and know where many of these discrepancies exist. We have helped many clients by eliminating incorrect auditor assessments and identifying offsetting tax credits.
To engage us to assist you, please complete and sign the Washington State Department of Revenue Confidential Tax Information Authorizing form and return a completed copy to us by fax or email. |
 RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS: Your business is constantly in motion. Nearly every transaction you enter into has a corresponding SALT consequence. Expansion into new markets will bring with it new SALT issues. We can help you identify these issues and properly comply with all applicable tax rules. Moreover, we can identify tax planning ideas to help minimize the overall taxes you pay.
Steve Browning has 15 years of experience doing research into state and local tax issues in the state of Washington. He is extremely knowledgeable about sales, use, business & occupation, and personal property taxes. In addition, he understands Washington unemployment and workers compensation rules. Moreover, he has a solid understanding of multistate income, sales and use, franchise, and net worth taxes, and can provide advice and counsel in all these areas.
Steve is someone who can advise his clients in all areas of state and local tax; understanding how business tax planning in one state may affect the tax consequences in another state; thus he is able to help his clients avoid unnecessary surprises down the road. We encourage you to contact him to discuss any state or local tax issue you may have. |
 LETTER RULING REQUESTS: In the world of SALT, laws are often unclear. In these situations, obtaining a written ruling from the applicable taxing authority can alleviate this uncertainty and avoid tax exposure in the future. Guidance that is not in writing is not binding on state taxing authorities.
We are qualified to prepare these letter ruling requests and have successfully done so numerous times in the past. These rulings can be prepared on either a “no-name” or name basis. A ruling issued under a “no-name” basis is not binding on the Department. However, it is a good way to understand the Department’s position on a matter without disclosing the taxpayer’s identity. A ruling issued to a particular taxpayer is binding, and a taxpayer can rely on this ruling until reversed by the Department or the law changes.
Please contact us to set up an initial consultation visit to discuss your issues. |
 REGISTRATION ASSISTANCE: Many companies target markets outside of their home state. Sales & marketing activities may occur by media advertising or through an on-the-ground sales force. In an effort to facilitate delivery of products or services to customers in other parts of the country, companies may store inventory or hire employees in these areas. Although such steps are critical for a growing business, they bring with them another, less pleasant consequence: becoming subject to multiple state and local taxing jurisdictions.
U.S. laws grant congress the authority to regulate interstate commerce. Over time, numerous federal and state court decisions have explained that states are not allowed to impose tax on an out-of-state company unless a material connection exists between the company and the state. This connection, referred to as nexus, must exist before a company can be taxed. For example, before a state can impose a sales or use tax collection responsibility on an out-of-state taxpayer, the taxpayer must have physical presence in the state. However, this physical presence does not need to rise to the level of a “permanent establishment” usually required among treaty nations. Rather, the state nexus threshold seems to be lessening over time.
Companies with nexus in a state are required to register to do business and to file the applicable tax reports. Companies doing business without registering or filing the required returns will be subject to stiff penalties for failing to meet the applicable tax requirements for as many years as the company was doing business in the state.
Is there any relief for companies who are already doing business in a state but have not met their registration or filing obligations? Yes, as most states, in an effort to encourage compliance and increase revenues, have enacted programs that allow a company to anonymously volunteer to register and begin filing applicable tax returns. These programs are called voluntary disclosure arrangements (VDA) and generally result in the waiver of all penalties and limiting the prior year tax filing requirement to four years or less.
We have assisted many clients identify where nexus exists and then acted as their representative in initiating and completing a VDA for them. To determine whether your company may have nexus in state’s where it is not registered to do business, follow this link to a sample nexus questionnaire spreadsheet. We encourage you to complete the questionnaire and contact us to discuss your particular situation. |
 TAX COMPLIANCE: Today’s state and local tax compliance can be an enormous burden and distraction for companies focusing on bottom line results. There are thousands of tax jurisdictions throughout the country. In Washington state alone, there are hundreds. These include state and city B&O taxes, sales & use taxes, and personal property taxes. Outside Washington, most states and many local governments impose a sales & use tax and a net income tax. Several states require separate tax returns for reporting the local sales/use tax. Complicating things further is the fact that each state and local government usually operates independently, resulting in frequent changes to its own rules and regulations.
Needless to say, all these tax compliance requirements can be a significant headache for businesses, eating up personnel time that could be better spent on more productive activities. Let us handle the SALT compliance function for you by filing the applicable monthly, quarterly, or annual tax returns. We welcome the opportunity to discuss how we can help. Call or email us to set up an appointment. |
 TRAINING: Adequate and ongoing training is critical to maintaining an effective and efficient tax and accounting department. We offer training in all areas of state and local tax.
Contact us to schedule a date, time and topic of your choosing. |
|
