August 11, 2008                                                                                                             

Weitzman & Suozzi look to snag vendors who cheat County out of sales tax

Nassau County Comptroller Howard Weitzman and County Executive Thomas Suozzi announced today that Nassau County has reached an agreement with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance that will help the County catch vendors who fail to report or underreport sales tax receipts. The agreement will allow the County to search through sales tax information by running computer matches of State sales tax receipts with County business records. The Comptroller announced last week that sales tax is projected to be $7.4 million under budget this year. Weitzman and Suozzi were also joined at a press conference today by Commissioner of Consumer Affairs Roger Bogsted and Anthony Vano, of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.

 “Taxpayers are already paying the sales tax. Everyone knows businesses that take only cash, including sales tax, from customers,” said Weitzman. “I just want to make sure the money is properly remitted to the state so that we can get our share.”

The agreement with the State will now enable the County to use technology to match merchants’ sales tax returns to County records, such as registrations and licenses. Weitzman and his staff have been negotiating the agreement with New York State Tax Commissioner Robert L. Megna, for over seven months. County Executive Suozzi and Comptroller Weitzman signed the agreement today at the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building.

"Retailers who do not report this information not only prevent the government from receiving much-needed revenue, but they are also defrauding their customers, who pay the sales tax but see nothing in return for it,” said County Executive Suozzi. “Since sales tax revenue makes up such a large part of our budget, it is important that Nassau County receives its fair share.”

"The Nassau County Office of Consumer Affairs is pleased to join Comptroller Weitzman in utilizing this valuable tool to assist in the crack down to ensure that businesses are paying the appropriate amount of sales tax. Every business in Nassau County should compete on a level field. We cannot allow any business to gain an illegal advantage at the expense of Nassau County taxpayers,” said Commissioner Bogsted.

New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Commissioner Megna said, "Our goal is to see that all taxpayers voluntarily pay the correct tax at the right time. However, State and local governments lose millions of dollars when businesses deliberately fail to remit sales taxes collected from customers. These businesses cheat government of legitimate revenue and deny honest taxpayers the benefits that those tax dollars provide. We welcome the opportunity to work with County Executive Suozzi and Comptroller Weitzman in the effort to curb this illegal activity."

The County keeps 4% of the state sales tax charged to consumers, the state gets 4%, local towns and villages get .25% and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority receives .375%. Last year some $25 billion in taxable sales and services took place in Nassau County, translating into approximately $1 billion in sales tax revenue for Nassau. Sales tax revenue accounts for about 41% of the County’s $2.5 billion budget. In 2008, retailers are projected to generate $24 billion in taxable retail sales.

"If retailers were to underreport sales tax by just 1%, which is a conservative figure, that would mean a loss of $10 million to the hard-pressed tax payers of Nassau County,” Weitzman said.

The County is currently struggling to maintain sales tax growth. A recent projection by the Comptroller estimated that the County’s sales tax revenue will be $7.4 million under the 2008 budget of $1.041 billion.  The 2008 budget had assumed a 2.5% growth rate in sales tax; based on receipts to-date in 2008, the Comptroller has projected that sales tax receipts will increase by only 2.1% over 2007 receipts. 

 “By increasing our collection of sales tax, we will be working towards solving the County’s overall budget problems,” said Weitzman.

To report a tax enforcement problem, call the Office of Tax Enforcement at 1-800-CALL-TAX (225-5829).