Department of Taxation and Finance: Sales Tax Vendor Registration Practices

The Department of Taxation and Finance is responsible for administering more than 40 State and localities, including the sales and use tax. Provisions of State Tax impose a tax on sales of table personal property can certain services, with some exemptions and require vendors that makes these sales to register for a Certificate of Authority, collect the tax from customers, and remit the tax to the State. The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted sales tax collections due to restrictions on businesses throughout 2020 and 2021. Collections have since begin to rebound, and, as of May 2021, States sales tax collections increased by nearly 60 percent over the same month in 2020. The Department has generally taken steps to ensure that entities required to register as sale tax vendors, have done do. However, we found several opportunities for improvement.