Ten Percent of Washington Businesses Are Tax Cheats

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I hate to point it out, but: the amnesty was Gregoire's idea - she nudged the ledge until they made it happen. Again, not that she ever gets any credit for doing a little good here and there....

gloomy gus on May 5, 2011 at 10:16 AM

So Asswipe-
what does "off the record" mean to you?

on May 5, 2011 at 10:30 AM

I had a sole proprietorship that has not generated any income in 2 years but I like to keep it (the name) registered just in case. The DOR calls me incessantly around this time time of year if I am only a week late with my tax return - you have to file something even if you have no income to report. I think the last profit I made from it was $2000 back in 2009, yet they call and leave messages for me to reply to - which you can only do, like, 8 to 4:30, which is when I am working at my real job. So inconvenient... anyways, the enforcement, from my perspective, is pretty aggressive. What this says to me is that businesses who aren't paying these taxes are not only negligent but purposefully avoiding paying taxes. They are probably getting multiple calls a day to pay their fucking taxes and just avoiding the call. It's called tax evasion... which I think is still illegal. How about amnesty for some other crimes? Like marijuana possession. Release low level offenders immediately and save the state bundles in prison costs. Sound good? No?

Aphonia on May 5, 2011 at 10:51 AM

I'm getting a lot of those back taxes owed are actually use tax. Use tax is just the sales tax that you owe on anything you bought of out state and thus did not pay sales tax on at time of purchase. Use tax is a bookkeeping nightmare.

Individuals in Washington State also owe use tax on anything they buy out of state that they do not pay sales tax on. Yes, all those things you buy in Oregon on vacation and bring home - you owe use tax on. This is also a huge source of lost money for the state, but there is no realistic mechanism for auditing or going after individuals except in the case of superhigh-priced purchases.

Simac on May 5, 2011 at 10:53 AM

What @3 said in the last 5 sentences.

Tax amnesties result in shortfalls in the next budget cycle.

Will in Seattle on May 5, 2011 at 11:20 AM

Being in arrears is not necessarily the same as being a tax cheat. Seems a little harsh. Some of these may be small (or even not small) businesses who recognize that they OWE the taxes but just didn't have the finances to pay it. The credit/lending situation is still dire for most small businesses, and the economic recovery is hardly robust enough to allow most small businesses comfort/profit in their financials. When struggling to cover payroll and then vendors, taxes often fall in the less immediate category. In some of these cases, I'm sure, businesses were not just sitting on this money. But the waived interest/penalties proved financially beneficial enough that they came up with the money. Heck, I bet some even used low-interest credit cards/loans to cover this.

Tracy on May 5, 2011 at 11:24 AM

@5 That's assuming they *would* have paid those taxes next year, which clearly they wouldn't have... since our ability to enforce these taxes is apparently lacking.

UNPAID COMMENTER on May 5, 2011 at 11:24 AM

I love the cynicism, but I doubt the truth of it. Between use taxes and sales tax trust deposits, the amount of money that came in is what usually slips between the cracks. This is also a good time for businesses to rethink contested tax claims. If it looks like they might lose the contest, the amnesty period was a good time to pay up.

Ballard Pimp on May 5, 2011 at 11:31 AM

@4: Your experience is so totally different from mine. I had a sole proprietorship from 2006 to, oh, probably this year, and the DOR has been great to deal with. Last year I filed a return with the "no business activity" box checked, and this year they sent me a notice that says, "Hey, we assume you haven't made any money this year, either. If you have, would you let us know? If we don't hear from you, we'll close your account and never bug you again." Maybe they did this because I let my business license expire.

In any event, I've never once had a phone call from them, even though I filed late a few times. The times I've called them they've answered the phone right away, treated me like a human being, and provided actual help. I've always thought of them as being one of the few examples of government actually working.

TVDinner on May 5, 2011 at 11:39 AM

@3: Exactly. I once registered a business, never opened a bank account, never made a single dime, and DOR will not stop harassing me. I've filed termination papers multiple times and they always find some reason to reject them (once, because I couldn't prove that the bank account I never had had been closed).

I expect the bulk of these 10% of businesses are long gone, and DOR is just wasting money chasing imaginary profits.

@9: Do you have a contact at DOR? It sounds like you hit the lottery with an actual helpful person.

also on May 5, 2011 at 11:50 AM

Hang on- I thought taxpayer money spent in waste, fraud and abuse wasn't worth going after. Right Goldy? I mean, you kept beating that drum for months when the budget was being negotiated, but suddenly you've changed your mind?

Oh, I see. These are evil businesspeople trying to rape their fellow citizens for blood money in profit, so that's different! I mean, the money spent in bad contracts, or over-paying for things, or overcompensated and underskilled government employees is different, right?

You really are a hack Goldstein. I'd have written 'propagandist' but that implies that the arguments pass even basic muster as convincing.

Seattleblues on May 5, 2011 at 12:06 PM

@9 I did actually file with the "No business to report" box checked... the last two years in a row. That's pretty neat that they sent you a notice! All I get are the forms in the mail and then the phone calls start pouring in. I even tried to do it on time this year and filed electronically. They are still calling. They always call from numbers that appear as "Unknown" so I never answer them and then always have to listen to their voicemail getting clipped off... almost invariably right when they get to the number and extension I should call them back at. Also, I had let the business license expire in 2008, I think. I have never renewed it.

I am not knocking the work they do or how they do it. I just think that perhaps their electronic systems have yet to catch up with their office personnel. Or, rather, the two things seeming to be mutually exclusive. I swear the one guy I did talk to said, after I had filed, that he didn't have access to those records yet and that it may take weeks or something before he would be able to reference filings I had made online. I asked if the calls would stop and he said no so I mailed the fucker in as well. This was for 2008 taxes I think. Maybe they have improved since then.

Aphonia on May 5, 2011 at 1:27 PM

Ten Percent of Washington Businesses Are Tax Cheats

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