A Georgia sales tax audit is an activity that most taxpayers must undergo to be able to have their taxes audited. Before an audit could be conducted, a taxpayer should be notified of the process. The taxpayer has 60 days from notification of the procedure to answer questions in a proper manner. This is a common way for Georgia tax lawyers to catch fraudulent cases.
A Georgia sales tax audit involves two separate accounts. Each account maintains a portion of Georgia’s sales tax collection for the years in question. The audits are designed to find instances the place where a taxpayer failed to meet up certain requirements of the tax code in question.
The initial part of the process is called the recovery phase of a sales tax audit. In this phase, Georgia tax attorneys utilize the sales tax portion of a taxpayer’s tax return as a guide point for any discrepancies in a taxpayer’s filing obligations. When a taxpayer violates Georgia’s sales tax requirements, the district court will issue a court order that may include a schedule of penalty payments. The schedules are intended to be properly used as a guideline with a taxpayer.
The most crucial thing a Georgia taxpayer should find out about a sales tax audit is that it is entirely voluntary. A Georgia taxpayer is not required to accomplish an audit. The method is made to help reduce the problem of fraud. Georgia residents should contact their local tax attorney to learn more on the individual tax situation. Georgia taxpayers who do not wish to accomplish an audit are welcome to ask the court to reopen an investigation and file a motion to dismiss.
Ahead of opening an investigation right into a taxpayer, a Georgia tax attorney conducts a GIS Audit. A significant part of the GIS Audit would be to interview the taxpayer and review any papers linked to a Georgia sales tax return. The GIS Audit requires a written response from the taxpayer that provides enough evidence to the court to carry on the case.
Once the case is reopened and the client is no longer entitled to the set amount, the case moves to the final phase of the investigation. This part of the investigation seeks to locate what Georgia law does not allow. With the brand-new evidence, the case moves toward the trial phase.
Any new evidence can either be discovered during the GIS Audit or during the trial. Any additional evidence may be introduced at trial after the fact to enhance the evidence already presented.
The last part of the sales tax audit is the closing phase. Here, all new evidence is reviewed to see if you can find any grounds for the case to go to the trial phase. If the client cannot prove the important points in the GIS Audit, or any evidence uncovered during the trial phase, the case might not move forward to the trial phase.