Huge Sales Tax Overpayment-How did this get through?

By June 21, 2010Tax Audit

A company recently overpaid its New York state and Suffolk County New York sales tax in one month by $10,000,000!!!!  How do you do this?

Apparently company paid over $10 million in use tax when it should have only paid $1,000.  The company reported out- of-state purchases of $116,000,000 which was taxed at 8.625% for a total tax of $10,005,000.   The county is having to refund over $5 million and the State is having to refund over $4.6 million.

What type of company would just pay $10 million in tax without some deeper investigation?  Who would prepare a sales tax return and not understand that this is not right?

Ned Lenhart
President
New York Tax Overpayment