Fayetteville is hooking up with state revenuers to uncover sales tax cheats.
The Fayetteville City Council Jan. 6 adopted a resolution joining several other Georgia cities participating in the new Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR) Sales Tax Compliance Program that encourages cities to share their business occupational tax records with DOR.
The resolution states that the voluntary program is intended to verify that businesses paying occupational taxes and regulatory fees are also paying their state and local sales taxes.
Explaining the program in a recent memo, City Clerk Anne Barnard said that DOR will compare the city’s occupational tax records with the state’s sales tax records to determine if discrepancies exist. Businesses that do not appear on sales tax records will be investigated, Barnard noted.
The Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) is working with DOR on the new initiative. Barnard said GMA’s goal is to get as many cities as possible to pass the resolution and participate in the program. Beta testing for the program is now occurring in Cartersville, Rome and Muscogee County.
The resolution gives the city the right to opt out of the program at a later date if desired.
