High Sales Tax Auditor Turnover May Mean Over Assessed Sales Tax Audits
I bet a lot of you would like to know why you are getting audited by young, inexperienced and sometimes aggressive Texas Comptroller Sales Tax Auditors. To do that I must make sure you understand WHO ARE the MILLENNIALS.
Baby Boomers (born 1940 – 1960, approximate period)
Generation X (born 1960 – 1980, approximate period)
Millennials (born 1980 – 2000, approximate period)
Millennial Texas Comptroller Auditors
Wikipedia defines Millennials with college degrees as those folks who DO NOT STAY at any job for more than 2 or 3 years and then move to the next job. This cycle usually continues for an average of 3 jobs before they finally settle down for the long haul. If the Texas Comptroller continues to hire young new college graduates then it is a given that most of them will quit in 2 to 3 years and move on to their 2nd job or 3rd job.
Because of the above probability you have a good chance of being audited by one of these young, inexperienced and possibly aggressive auditors. And that is bad news since auditors from the past (hired from 1980 to 2000) usually stayed around much longer, were much more experienced and were in general less aggressive. It is also likely that a 1 to 3 year old Texas Comptroller auditor will not have a firm grasp of proper auditing and estimation techniques and will certainly not know taxability as well as seasoned auditors (i.e., what is taxable and what is not).
Are Auditors Ranked on How Much Tax is Assessed?
It is a fact that the agency continues to provide most auditors with a periodic printout of HOW MUCH tax they are assessing along with other statistics such as ‘tax assessed per hour’ on tax due audits. It is inevitable that many auditors will then believe that they are being reviewed and possibly promoted based on TAX ASSESSMENT factors.
No More Tax Policy Letters
Let me add one more depressing thought. Since 2012 the Texas Comptroller has ceased to issue what are called Tax Policy Letters. These are considered by any serious Texas Sales Tax student to be the most important source of sales tax authority (trumping the statutes, tax rules and hearings). And why has the Texas Comptroller stopped issuing these critical pronouncements. It is easy. Most of the senior Tax Policy Experts have left the agency (i.e., quit, retired, died). I have written another detailed blog on this subject. It should be noted that Texas Tax Group has four former Texas Comptroller Tax Policy Experts on staff.
The takeaway here is to watch out. Take your audit and auditor seriously. If you decide to hire an outside consulting firm then you must also do your homework. Texas Tax Group is committed to a singular activity – defending and representing you with your Texas Comptroller Tax Audit.
