Handling Sales And Use Tax Audits: Best Practices That Every Tax Department Needs To Know

The current recession has had a devastating effect on U.S. state budgets; in some states, sales and use tax revenues have fallen by as much as 14% since 2008. To increase audit-generated revenues, many states are expanding their efforts to identify companies likely to have issues with sales and use tax compliance, and taxing authorities are pursing audit leads from various sources. To help you prepare for and manage audits that achieve the best outcome for your business, this article captures audit best practices and offers tips on how to jump-start development of an internal audit manual for your business. An audit manual documents how your organization manages audits and helps ensure that future audits are handled in a consistent and efficient manner. (P. L. Pelino, C. S. Iafrate, and S. Steinbring, 20 Journal of Multistate Taxation and Incentives, No. 9, 18 (January 2011).)