For Immediate Release
Date: August 29, 2007
Contact: Maura Browning
Phone: (573) 751-8222

New Law Gives Revenue Department Authority to Publish Names of Businesses with Revoked Sales Tax Licenses

        JEFFERSON CITY – Beginning August 28, 2007, Senate Bill 30 gives the Missouri Department of Revenue authority to publish the name of any business which has a revoked sales tax license.  A sales tax license may be revoked for either failing to remit sales tax collected from customers or for failing to remit income tax withheld from employees.

        The list will be maintained on the department’s website at www.dor.mo.gov.  The website will employ a feature that allows users to search for revoked businesses by tax number and business name, or users can request all revoked businesses within a certain city or county.  For each revoked business the website will display the business name, owner name, address of all revoked locations, and revocation date.  The department will update the businesses appearing on the website weekly.

        “Giving the department authority to publish names of businesses that break the law helps us on two fronts,” said Revenue Department Director Trish Vincent.  “First, the embarrassment associated with being listed should drive greater compliance.  Second, enforcement will be easier, since local law enforcement as well as regular citizens can examine the list and report businesses that have illegally re-opened.”

        A business with a revoked sales tax license should contact their local tax assistance office to comply.  There are seven tax assistance offices statewide, and contact information for each office may be found at http://dor.mo.gov/tax/assistance.htm.

###