Process Reform of Use Tax on Building Materials

About the Program

Category: Financial Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2011

Concerned that use tax collections on building materials were lower than they should be, El Paso County began a study in 2008 of the use tax collection process and results. At the time, the County’s use tax was collected by the City of Colorado Springs through an intergovernmental agreement dating to 1988. The County’s primary concerns with that process were that it did not review building projects valued at less than $100,000 and that it lacked an effective audit component. In studying this problem, El Paso County also reviewed use tax processes and collections of other similarly sized counties. This not only helped clarify the problem, but also served as a source of ideas for the new approach to use tax collections. The study confirmed these concerns and as a result the County decided to develop and implement a new use tax collection process that would address these concerns and enable accurate and timely collections.