Basics About Sales, Use, and Other Transactional Taxes

Basics about Sales, Use, and Other Transactional Taxes explains transactional taxes in layperson's language, so you can better understand and manage transactional taxes and minimize tax-related costs. Transactional taxes are taxes that are imposed upon the value of items, goods, and services at the time of their sale, use, or storage. This includes taxes known as sales, use, value-added, goods and services, and excise taxes. In straightforward language, the author aims to: explain the basic principles and scope of transactional taxes; help readers perform basic tax-related activities without hiring a professional tax expert; provide information that may be used to avoid overpaying transactional taxes; identify best practices to ensure compliance with tax laws and regulations; help readers recognize when they should seek assistance from tax experts and/or lawyers. The author also describes activities associated with the implementation, management, and remittance of transactional taxes, including the role of regulatory agencies, descriptions of different rules and regulations, and how applicable taxes are collected. She also highlights responsibilities regarding the remittance of taxes, recordkeeping, and the reporting of taxes, and what happens during an audit.