It’s available on the agency’s website.
Md Comptroller Brooke Lierman
Annapolis, Md (KM) A secure portal has been launched by the Maryland Comptroller’s Office to allow citizens to report business fraud. Comptroller Brooke Lierman says the portal is located on the Comptroller’s Office website (marylandtaxes.gov/whistleblower). and is a central point for citizens to provide information on suspected business tax fraud.
“This new portal is just another tool in our arsenal for closing the tax gap, and encouraging voluntary compliance for individuals and businesses of our tax system,” LIerman says.
The Maryland Comptroller’s Office says the tax gap in the state is estimated at more than $2.6 billion
Some examples of business tax fraud include employers failing to provide W2 forms and 1099 tax documents, along with misclassifying employees as contractors, and paying employees in cash. “We see quite a bit of this in different laboring industries , construction industries. We see this in all different types of businesses,” she says.
Lierman says citizen complaints received through the portal are sent off the Comptroller’s Compliance Division which will review the information. If the complaints need to be looked at further , they will then undergo an investigation or an audit. “And then potentially an auditor-investigator will contact the submitter for additional information, if it wasn’t submitted anonymously as well,” she says.
The Maryland Comptroller’s Office says it will be hiring at least 25 new staff members to assist with tax auditing and collections.
While most businesses comply with the law, Lierman says there are some who don’t. “Unfortunately, I think it’s more widespread than we think. But we’re certainly continuing our efforts,” she says.
In end, Lierman says everyone should pay their fair share of taxes. “We have a voluntary compliance system. And the way that we make sure that people voluntarily comply is by insuring equitable enforcement of the law,” she says. “And that we are committed to doing. And this portal is one more way to help us catch bad actors.”
By Kevin McManus