Tax Service Overview
Dillon Tax Consulting provides tax advisory services and solutions to companies across all industries, ranging in revenue size from several hundred thousand dollars to multi-billion dollars. Our expertise and professional relationships have enabled us to provide measurable value to our clients by:
· identifying and securing seven- and six-figure refunds of tax overpayments, ensuring prospective annuity benefits as well;
· identifying and minimizing multi-state and multi-tax obligations, resulting in reduced contingencies and enhanced bottom lines;
· reviewing and streamlining compliance processes and enhancing internal controls, freeing internal corporate resources to pursue other opportunities;
· representing taxpayers during sales and transaction tax audits and defending taxpayers on appeal after assessments have been issued and "all hope seems lost", resulting in successful resolutions of the matters prior to litigation.
Some of the services we provide include...
Though companies often begin defending themselves against an audit once the assessment is issued, your defense against a tax audit actually begins years before it begins. Audits typically look back over a three to four year period, therefore your company must begin preparing today for an audit that may occur three to four years from now. Even still, once an auditor knocks on your door, there are a number of strategic and tactical decisions and actions steps yoru company can make before, during and after the audit that will ensure the fairest and most reasonable outcome to the audit. Engaging a sales tax expert in this process is the best way to ensure the optimal outcome to the audit.
Regardless of your efforts, your company may face an unjust and unfair auditor or an audit assessment that it wants to and should appeal. Through our experience and legal skills, we have successfully defended companies across the country and in nearly every industry, ranging in size from Fortune 100 to small sole proprietors. Our successful appeals have saved companies millions of dollars in unjust and unfair sales & transaction tax assessments. Whether it be a multi-million dollar state sales and use tax assessment, or a local admissions or license tax of $20,000, let us step in and take control of the matter. We will not only utilize our tax law expertise and professional relationships to ensure that your appeal is resolved successfully and fairly, but we will also pursue potential overpayments to be used as offsets or refunds in our appeal with the taxing authority.
Reverse Audits (Tax Recovery)
Whether you are a manufacturer, construction contractor, rela estate developer, software developer, not for profit organization, a distributor, or other retailer or service provider, there are numerous sales tax and other tax exemptions, tax credits and incentives available not only in your home state but in other states in which you conduct acitivities or maintain a taxable presence. Our tax and legal expertise will ensure that your company is maximizing its exemption, credit and incentive opportunities, while minimizing its tax obligations and exposure.
We provide our diagnostic opportunity analysis - in which we identify not only potential refund opportunities, but also potential unrecorded exposure - free to your company as an investment in the Reverse Audit process. Furthermore, we typically provide our Tax Recovery services on a contigent fee basis, meaning that we do not get paid until we have identified, filed and secured your refund in your hands, availing you not only to the historical benefits of the opportunity, but also to he prospective annuity benefits as well.
Nexus Surveys
Nexus is the minimum physical presence that must exist before a state can impose any tax liability and reporting requirements upon a company. Having property, employees, contractors or representatives in a state will typically establish nexus. However, there is no bright-line standard for nexus - the standards and rules vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. This places a tremendous burden on the in-house resources of a multi-state business to adequately identify and meet their sales and use tax obligations.
We can identify those jurisdictions in which nexus exists, both currently and historically. We can also quantify the historical exposure, enabling you to make a more informed decision regarding your contingent liabilities and prospective compliance requirements.
Voluntary Disclosure Services
Typically, after a company has identified the jurisdictions in which nexus exists, there is substantial state and local tax (sales & Use, income/franchise, business license) exposure relating to the prior periods in which nexus existed and no returns were filed. Normally, if a company files its tax returns in a timely manner, the statute of limitations (the period a taxing authority may audit or review for compliance accuracy) is three t ofour years. If no returns have been filed, the statute of limitations does not toll on the prior periods and the company remains exposed to potential assessments of tax, interest and penalties, for as far back as the business has had nexus in the State.
We will represent your company to each jurisdiction with which the company seeks to register. In this manner, your company's anonymity will be respected as we successfully negotiate voluntary compliance settlement agreements with each taxing authority. We will audit your company in eahc jurisdiction and prepare the agreed-to workpapers and returns for submission to each jurisdiction. Once the workpapers and corresponding liabilities are reviewed with your company, we will complete the necessary registration and file agreed-to tax workpapers and returns in those jurisdictions the company authorizes.
Sales Tax Matrix Development
Once a company has identified the jurisidtions in which it has tax filing obligations, and is registered, it must determine the appropriate tax treatment of its purchases and sales. We research the relevant statutes, regulations, tax department opinions and rulings, judicial precedent and other guidance to determine the sales & use tax rules relevant to your purchases and sales.
We will provide your company with a detailed memorandum and a matrix summarizing the appropriate sales & use tax treatment of your company's transactions. The memo and matrix will not only enable to company's purchase and sales erpsonnle to make accurate and efficient transaction tax determinations, but will also form support for the company tax return filing obligations and for potential audits.
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