June 16, 2000 Washington, DC

(June 16, Washington, DC). States involved in formulating a proposed streamlined sales and use tax system will meet again later this month to continue their discussions. The Streamlined Sales Tax Project will meet in Chicago, Illinois on June 28-30.

"The States have undertaken a daunting task, but we have made a lot of progress," stated Diane L. Hardt (Wisconsin Department of Revenue), a co-chair of the Project. "The Work Groups have an enormous number of issues to consider in building a new sales tax system from the ground-up. However, the discussions among the states and the input we have received from the private sector have helped the Work Groups crystallize these issues into a finite set of initiatives," she concluded.

At the June 28-30 meeting, the Steering Committee for the Project also expects to continue discussions on the parameters of the pilot project that will be launched in the Fall 2000. The pilot is intended to test the capabilities of tax collection software under current law. "The Project has not yet finalized any decisions regarding tax base and tax rates under a new streamlined system so these elements will not be a part of the pilot project," commented Charles D. Collins, Jr. (North Carolina Department of Revenue), also a Project co-chair. "However, it’s time to test the capabilities and limits of currently available tax collection software. Therefore, the Project has decided to perform a targeted pilot project in several states with several software vendors and several retail participants." Collins said the pilot project will run in the last quarter of this year and anticipated that it will provide valuable information regarding how software programs must be adjusted to conform to a new system. A Request for Proposal for parties interested in participating in the pilot will be available later this month through the Project’s website at www.streamlinedsalestax.org.

The June 29 meeting of the Work Group on Tax Rates, Returns and Remittances will be open to the public, and private sector input is being solicited. The Work Group is formulating a paper discussing issues and options for simplifying the determination of appropriate tax rates as well as the filing of returns and remittances. The Work Group will meet with a group of retailers and others involved in administering sales taxes to obtain their input on the best approaches to simplification. Comments from members of the public in attendance will be invited.

In addition, the Project co-chairs reported that numerous applications have been received in response to the Project’s request for expertise from the private sector. Several Work Groups have incorporated representatives of the private sector into their discussions to assist in tackling numerous technical issues. Individuals and organizations interested in lending their expertise to the Project may do so by completing the application available on the Project website.

A public comment period is provided at each Project meeting for individuals and organizations wishing to comment on issues pertaining to the Project’s mission. Individuals interested in testifying before the Project are asked to contact one of the Project co-chairs directly and register to attend the meeting via the Project website.

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