by Fresh Start Tax | Aug 19, 2013 | Florida Sales Tax
Former Florida Sales Tax Auditor, Consultation, Representation
If you need to hire or consult a Former Florida Sales Tax Audit contact Frank A. Lamanta
Former State of Florida Sales Tax Auditor with Fresh Start Tax LLC. 1-866-700-1040.
Frank has over 16 years as auditor with the State of Florida, Department of Revenue.
History
Frank earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the Franciscan University of Steubenville in 1973 with a major in Accounting and a minor in Business Administration and Economics.
Former Sales and Use Tax Auditor for the Florida Department of Revenue while employed with the Florida DOR achieved the following awards:
- Davis Productivity Award of Distinction,
- Florida DOR Distinguished Service Award,
- Florida DOR Certificate of Excellence,
- Florida DOR Certificate of Appreciation,
- Florida DOR Special Recognition and the Florida DOR Super Star Award.
Franks accounting career began with the State of Florida, Division of Treasury in 1985 as an Accountant Supervisor, Florida State University in 1987 as an Accounting Supervisor, Florida Attorney General in 1990 as an Assistant Finance & Accounting Director.
Frank then began his sales tax career in 1994 with the Florida Department of Revenue Coral Springs Florida Service Center.
Frank also worked at the Fort Myers Florida and Orlando Florida Service Centers. Frank continued his sales tax career with the Florida out-of-state office, the Atlanta Service Center in 2001.
From 1994 to 2001 Frank worked in the Florida Service centers of Coral Springs, Fort Myers and Orlando Frank conducted numerous audits of large multi-state corporations as well as small and medium size corporations, partnerships and sole proprietorships while working as a Florida in-state auditor.
From 2001 until 2010 Frank worked in the Florida out-of-state office of Atlanta, Georgia. Frank conducted numerous audits of large multi-state corporations as well as small and medium size corporations, partnerships and sole proprietorships that maintained their books and records in Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Frank proudly served in the United States Army from 1967 through 1969 as a Specialist 5 Processing Coordinator in The Pentagon, Washington, DC.
Contact Frank today at 1-866-700-1040. You can receive a free tax consultation and free tax assessment on any Florida sales tax issue you’re facing.
Besides having Frank on staff we are comprised of tax attorneys CPAs and former IRS agents.
Former Florida Sales Tax Auditor, Consultation, Representation
by Fresh Start Tax | Aug 19, 2013 | Florida Sales Tax, Tax Help
Sales Tax Audit Defense – Former Florida Sales Tax Auditor, Tax Tips
These are Questions the Florida Sales Tax Auditor will probably ask and procedures the auditor will use to conduct the sales and use tax audit.
In addition to knowing why your company was selected for audit, it is also helpful to know in advance what type of questions the auditor will ask, how the auditor will conduct the audit, what the auditor will focus on and what types of documentation will be examined.
The Florida Sales Tax Auditors job
Remember that the auditor’s job is to find unreported or under reported revenue and use tax from purchases that did not have the proper sales tax paid and therefore the questions will be focused in the areas of high dollar recovery.
On the sales tax side expect the auditor to perform a high-level review of items such as:
• sales on the books as compared to sales per state sales tax return
• sales per federal income tax returns compared to sales per state sales tax returns
• deposits per bank statements compared to sales per sales tax returns
• an analysis of the sales tax payable account to the sales tax actually remitted
• verify that tax being collected is at the correct rate for location(s)
• verify that discretionary taxes are being properly calculated and remitted
• review internal controls for a recorded/undocumented sales
• review a representative test of each revenue account
On the use tax side, look for the auditor to focus on such items as:
• purchases from out-of-state vendors of items that were not resold to consumers
• Review depreciation schedules and/or check register for assets purchased during the audit.
• Review County tangible personal property tax returns for asset acquisitions
• purchases of fixed assets and fixed asset additions
• Internet purchases
• verify and trace accruals from source documents to general ledgers and sales tax reports
• analyze consumables pulled from inventory
• analyze leases of tangible personal property for compliance
For commercial rent expect the auditor to focus on:
• rental income – ensure tax was collected on all components of rent
• rental expense – ensure tax was paid on all components of rent
• on rent paid – ensure that the landlord is properly registered with the state of Florida
Expect the auditor to perform detailed tests
Expect the auditor to perform detailed tests such as tracing individual transactions involving sales and use taxes to the company’s accounting system, validating that tax rates billed on transactions are correct at the time of the billing, and verifying that current resale certificates are on hand for the customers claiming exempt status.
Electronic auditing, or e-Auditing,
Electronic auditing, or e-Auditing, is computer-assisted auditing using electronic records to complete all or part of the audit. If you use a computer to record your business activity and keep this data electronically, you are a candidate for an electronic audit.
Electronic records are preferred because it is the most accurate and efficient method of conducting an audit.
Documentation to conduct the audit
From the documentation standpoint, the auditor will likely start with a questionnaire to obtain general information about the business, ownership structure, and the market it serves.
The auditor is likely to request access to and inspect documents such as:
• the companies federal income tax returns for the period under audit
• chart of accounts
• trial balances and general ledgers
• sales journals
• invoices, receipts and credit memos supporting sales transactions
• exemption certificates for customers
• purchase journals and records
• cash disbursement journals
• bank statements
• fixed asset registers and depreciation schedules
How a Florida Department of Revenue may conduct a Sales and Use Tax Audit
Whereas when the company being audited and the Florida Department of revenue agree that the records are so voluminous in nature and substance that sampling is an effective, expedient, and adequate method to facilitate the audit.
The process of Selecting the Sample:
The first step in selecting the sample is to identify the sampling frame. The sampling frame is a group of items from which the sample is drawn or a listing of sampling units. In a homogeneous sampling frame, any item in the frame is representative of any other item; therefore, a random selection of all items in the frame will be representative.
The auditor determines how the accounting records are physically stored and available in order to identify the sampling frame.
Typically, accounting records have numbered sampling frames or non-numbered sampling frames, or they may have a combination of both. Both numbered and non-numbered sampling frames can be randomly sampled using WinSample.
WinSample is a software program developed by the Department of Revenue’s General Tax Administration’s Statistics Team and Applied Technology.
WinSample randomly selects sample points from many possible sampling frames using a seed number.
WinSample may be used when taxpayer records are not available in an electronic format suitable for stratified statistical sampling or e-Auditing. Numbered sampling frames include source documents that are consecutively numbered.
Some examples are:
• Invoice numbers
• Voucher numbers
• Check numbers Non-numbered sampling frames include source documents that have no natural numbering system.
Although not consecutively numbered, a random sample of the transactions may still be identified.
Some examples of non-numbered sampling frames supported in WinSample are:
• Time periods (days, weeks, months, quarters)
• Journals (with page numbers and multiple lines on each page)
• Imaged documents
• Microfiche
After the sampling frame is identified, data integrity tests for each sampling frame will be performed.
Data integrity tests will be performed on both numbered and non-numbered populations.
We are a full-service tax firm that specializes in federal state tax representation and are one of Florida’s most experienced for sales tax audit defense.
Our staff consists of tax attorneys, certified public accountants, former IRS agents in a former sales tax agent with over 16 years of direct work experience with the Florida Department of revenue.
Feel free to contact us for initial tax consulting for Florida sales tax audit defense.
We will completely review your case and give you a full assessment of your audit status so you can make an informed and confident decision how to fully resolve your sales tax audit case.
We are a full-service tax firm that specializes in federal state tax representation and are one of Florida’s most experienced for sales tax audit defense.
Our staff consists of tax attorneys, certified public accountants, former IRS agents in a former sales tax agent with over 16 years of direct work experience with the Florida Department of revenue.
Florida Sales Tax Audits – Questions you will be Asked by the Auditor – Insider Tips
by Fresh Start Tax | Aug 8, 2013 | Florida Sales Tax
Florida Sales Tax Audit Defense – Affordable Expert Defense
Fresh Start Tax LLC is a professional tax firm that specializes in defending taxpayers against the State of Florida, Department of Revenue.
We begin the process of your tax audit defense from your first letter until your case with Florida Sales Tax is fully resolved and your case settled.
If you will wind up owing money we will arrange a tax settlement with Florida sales tax.
We are a full service tax firm that has well over 300 years professional tax experience and are rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau. We have been in private practice right here in the state of Florida since 1982.
Our firm is comprised of tax attorneys, certified public accountants, a former sales tax agent of 16 years and former IRS agents, managers and tax instructors who have over 60 years of direct government experience in the local, district, and regional tax offices.
Since we have worked for the government we completely understand what it takes to fully resolve your case using different tax strategies to ensure your very best result.
We are the affordable experts for Florida Sales Tax Audit Defense.
Beware – If you owe back Florida Sales Tax?
You want to be represented by experienced tax professionals
You should know the State of Florida tax law allows the following actions to be done when you owe back taxes:
- Garnish or levy your wages
- Revoke your business registration or business licenses
- Bank accounts can be frozen and seized to pay your tax debt
- Property and assets can be lien, seized and sold to pay your back taxes
- Despite paying the debt, the State of Florida tax lien will remain on your credit report for 7 to 10 years
- You will be subject to penalties between 10% per month and 100% of the total tax due.
- Interest on the debt accrues daily on the unpaid balance
- And yes, the State of Florida can issue an arrest Arrest Warrant with the local law enforcement for your incarceration.
Feel free to contact us for initial tax consultation for Florida Sales Tax Audit Defense. We will completely review your case and give you a full assessment on the pros and cons so you can make an informed incompetent decision of how to fully resolve your sales tax audit case.
There are many excellent firms that represent taxpayers for Florida sales tax audit defense and we believe we are in that category.
Professional Tax Representation
- On staff, Board Certified Tax Attorney’s, IRS Tax Lawyers, Certified Public Accountants, Enrolled Agents,
- Full Service Accounting Tax Firm,
- We taught Tax Law in the IRS Regional Training Center
- Former IRS Agents, Managers and Instructors with over 60 years experience in the local, district and regional IRS offices.
- Highest Rating by the Better Business Bureau “A” Plus
- Fast, affordable, and economical
- Licensed and certified to practice in all 50 States
- Nationally Recognized Veteran /Published Former IRS Agent
- Nationally Recognized Published EZINE Tax Expert
- As heard on GRACE Net Radio.com – Monthly Radio Show-Business Weekly
Areas of Professional Tax Practice:
- Same Day IRS Tax Representation
- Offers in Compromise or IRS Tax Debt Settlements
- Immediate Release of IRS Bank Levies or IRS Wage Garnishments
- Tax Relief from a IRS Bill, Letter or Notice of “Intent to Levy”
- IRS Tax Audits
- IRS Hardships Cases or Unable to Pay
- Payment Plans, Installment Agreements, Structured agreements
- Abatement of Penalties and Interest
- State Sales Tax Cases
- Payroll / Trust Fund Penalty Cases / 6672
- Filing Late, Back, Unfiled Tax Returns
- Tax Return Reconstruction
- Federal Tax Problems – Tax Resolution & Easy Solutions
Florida Sales Tax Audit Defense – Affordable Expert Audit Defense – Attorneys, Former Agents
by Fresh Start Tax | Aug 8, 2013 | Florida Sales Tax
We are a full service tax firm that specializes in federal and state tax representation.
We are State of Florida affordable tax experts.
Our firm has over 300 years of professional tax experience in the area of tax representation.
If you are in Jacksonville, Tampa, or Orlando contact us at our toll free number 1-866-700-1040.
We are comprised of tax attorneys, certified public accountants, and former IRS agents, managers and tax instructors including former sales tax agent who has over 16 years of direct work experience with the Department of revenue, state of Florida.
You can contact us today for a free initial tax consultation and we can review your case and you will be able hear the different options and solutions that are available to you to make a prudent and competent decision.
Do you owe back Florida Sales Tax?
You should know the State of Florida tax law allows the following actions to be done when you owe back taxes:
- Garnish or levy your wages
- Revoke your business registration or business licenses
- Bank accounts can be frozen and seized to pay your tax debt
- Property and assets can be lien, seized and sold to pay your back taxes
- Despite paying the debt, the State of Florida tax lien will remain on your credit report for 7 to 10 years
- You will be subject to penalties between 10% per month and 100% of the total tax due.
- Interest on the debt accrues daily on the unpaid balance
- And yes, the State of Florida can issue an arrest Arrest Warrant with the local law enforcement for your incarceration.
Are you undergoing a Florida Sales Tax Audit in which you need Tax Representation?
There are number of ways that the Florida sales tax audit can take place and it varies from audit to audit, region or region and auditor auditor.
There are also several Florida Sales Tax Audit methods that can be used to audit Florida sales tax so it is important to understand the different auditing methods that may take place.
Listed below are a few audit options that can be used Florida sales tax.
How a Florida Sales and Use may audit and conduct your tax audit: The use of Selecting the Sample:
The first step in selecting the sample is to identify the sampling frame.
The sampling frame is a group of items from which the sample is drawn or a listing of sampling units.
In a homogeneous sampling frame, any item in the frame is representative of any other item; therefore, a random selection of all items in the frame will be representative.
The auditor determines how the accounting records are physically stored and available in order to identify the sampling frame.
Typically, accounting records have numbered sampling frames or non-numbered sampling frames, or they may have a combination of both.
Both numbered and non-numbered sampling frames can be randomly sampled using WinSample.
WinSample is a software program developed by the General Tax Administration’s Statistics Team and Applied Technology.
WinSample randomly selects sample points from many possible sampling frames using a seed number.
WinSample may be used when taxpayer records are not available in an electronic format suitable for stratified statistical sampling or e-Auditing.
Numbered sampling frames include source documents that are consecutively numbered.
Some examples are:
• Invoice numbers
• Voucher numbers
• Check numbers Non-numbered sampling frames include source documents that have no natural numbering system.
Although not consecutively numbered, a random sample of the transactions may still be identified.
Some examples of non-numbered sampling frames supported in WinSample are:
• Time periods (days, weeks, months, quarters)
• Journals (with page numbers and multiple lines on each page)
• Imaged documents
• Microfiche
After the sampling frame is identified, data integrity tests for each sampling frame should be performed.
Data integrity tests should be performed on both numbered and non-numbered populations.
Audit-Related Information – Different types of tax audits by Florida Sales Tax
Electronic auditing, or e-Auditing,
Electronic auditing, or e-Auditing, is computer-assisted auditing using electronic records to complete all or part of the audit. If you use a computer to record your business activity and keep this data electronically, you are a candidate for an electronic audit.
We prefer to examine electronic records because it is the most accurate and efficient method of conducting an audit.
The Certified Audit Program
The Certified Audit Program is a cooperative effort between the Florida Department of Revenue and the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA). Taxpayers who have not received a Notice of Intent to Audit from the Department are eligible. The program gives taxpayers the opportunity to hire qualified CPA firms to review their sales and use and local option tax compliance. As an incentive, Revenue waives penalties and reduces interest if tax is owed as a result of the audit.
The Voluntary Disclosure Program
The Voluntary Disclosure Program allows you to report previously unpaid or underpaid tax liabilities for any tax administered by the Florida Department of Revenue.
Once you have paid the tax and interest, Revenue will waive the penalties. If you think you might owe back taxes and Revenue has not contacted you about the liability, you may be eligible for the Voluntary Disclosure Program.
Standard Industry Guides provide tax information for specific types of businesses. Taxpayers may use them to help understand sales tax issues likely to surface relating to the industry; and relevant laws, court cases, and other technical documents.
Tax clearance letters and transferee liability certificates: When buying a Florida business, the purchaser should ask the seller for documentation of any tax, penalty, or interest due to the Department of Revenue.
A business owner can use a clearance letter as proof of good standing with the Department.
Contact us today and find out just who we are and how we can help you if you are in need of Florida sales tax representation.
We are a Florida tax from that specializes in IRS, federal and state tax relief.
Florida Sales Tax Representation – Former Affordable Sales Tax Agents – Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando
by Fresh Start Tax | Aug 7, 2013 | Florida Sales Tax, State of Florida
You can hire a Affordable Former State of Florida Agent to represent you in these matters.
Has a Florida Tax Warrant Been Issued to you by the State of Florida?
Under Florida tax law, the Department of Revenue, Department of Revenue can issue a Tax Warrant, which is effectively the same as a lien, when you or your company, your business, your corporation fail to pay allegedly past due Florida Sales or Use taxes.
This will puts into place all the various enforced State of Florida collection actions and penalties against you or your business.You do not want to fall into enforcement hands.
Yes, even your wages can be levied or garnished, including your bank accounts and both will be used to pay the back taxes. Yes, the State of Florida means business!
Your assets and property that you own can be seized, put up for sale and the proceeds used to pay off your tax debt. The sheriff may lock your doors!
You should also know that the state of Florida often pursues criminal prosecution for those who have repeatedly violated Florida State Law and that have deliberately not turned over there back sales tax to the Department of revenue.
In each and every one of these cases you’ll need to be represented by a criminal tax attorney. You should avoid this at all cost.
The State of Florida may revoke your business licenses
The DOR can revoke your business licenses and, even when your debt is paid, the Florida tax warrant will stay on your credit history for 7-10 years.
If these consequences were not enough, daily interest accrues on the unpaid balance of your debt PLUS a 10% tax warrant penalty is assessed on the taxes you owe.
This is on top of a 10% per month penalty for the first five months the amounts are unpaid. The penalties will keep piling up.
Bankruptcy Options
Many types of tax obligations not only survive bankruptcy, but the State of Florida can pierce the corporate veil to make owner individually, personally liable for the taxes due and the same goes for the Internal Revenue Service with back withholding taxes.
Side note
In most cases, a tax warrant is valid for a period of 20 years.
Fresh Start Tax is comprised of tax attorneys, CPAs and a Former state of Florida sales tax auditor as well as former IRS Agents.
Our firm has well over 300 years of professional tax experience and over 60 years of working directly for the government agencies.
You can contact us today for a free initial tax consultation.
Tax Warrant Help – State of Florida – Owe Back Sales Tax
by Fresh Start Tax | Aug 5, 2013 | Florida Sales Tax
Fresh Start Tax L.L.C. is please to announce the hiring of Frank A. Lamantia is a Former State of Florida Sales Tax Auditor.
Frank is an expert in State of Florida Sales Tax Help, Audits and Settlements.
Here is some bio information on Frank.
Frank earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the Franciscan University of Steubenville in 1973 with a major in Accounting and a minor in Business Administration and Economics.
Former Sales and Use Tax Auditor for the Florida Department of Revenue while employed with the Florida DOR achieved the following awards:
Davis Productivity Award of Distinction,
Florida DOR Distinguished Service Award,
Florida DOR Certificate of Excellence,
Florida DOR Certificate of Appreciation,
Florida DOR Special Recognition and the Florida DOR Super Star Award.
His career with the State of Florida, Division of Treasury in 1985 as an Accountant Supervisor, Florida State University in 1987 as an Accounting Supervisor, Florida Attorney General in 1990 as an Assistant Finance & Accounting Director.
Frank then began his sales tax career in 1994 with the Florida Department of Revenue Coral Springs Florida Service Center. Frank also worked at the Fort Myers Florida and Orlando Florida Service Centers.
Frank continued his sales tax career with the Florida out-of-state office, the Atlanta Service Center in 2001.
From 1994 to 2001 Frank worked in the Florida Service centers of Coral Springs, Fort Myers and Orlando
Frank conducted numerous audits of large multi-state corporations as well as small and medium size corporations, partnerships and sole proprietorships while working as a Florida in-state auditor.
From 2001 until 2010 Frank worked in the Florida out-of-state office of Atlanta, Georgia. Frank conducted numerous audits of large multi-state corporations as well as small and medium size corporations, partnerships and sole proprietorships that maintained their books and records in Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Frank proudly served in the United States Army from 1967 through 1969 as a Specialist 5 Processing Coordinator in The Pentagon, Washington, DC.
If you need state of Florida sales tax help of any type contact us today so we could completely resolve your state of Florida IRS tax problem.
Frank is a specialist in Sales Tax Audits, Owing and Settling Sales Tax Issues and Sales Tax Problem Resolutions.
Call our offices today and speak direct to Frank. 1-866-700-1040
