Up to the Minute...

Press Release
August 27, 2007

Commission Warns Taxpayers about Paying for Free Services

The Oklahoma Tax Commission wants taxpayers to be aware of websites that offer taxpayer registration services for a fee. These are the same business registration and application services that are offered free of charge on the agency site, www.tax.ok.gov.

“As more and more people turn to the internet to locate information we are finding that new business owners can wind up paying unnecessary fees for the same products and services that are offered free on the Tax Commission website,” said Paula Ross, agency spokesperson. “Starting up a business is expensive enough already, and now we are finding that some people are paying for forms and applications that are available for free on our own site.”

One website, www.tax-id-application.info, informs a prospective business owner that they can receive an Oklahoma Sales Tax Permit for a fee of $25. For that fee the taxpayer will then receive an email that contains the web address for the Oklahoma Tax Commission website.

Another site, www.corporate.com, will send a Business License Compliance Package for $75. The package contains an overview of tax registrations that may be needed to operate the business, contact information, and instructions for applications. For tax registration, all of this information can be found free on the Oklahoma Tax Commission site.

Lastly, www.businessnameusa.com, for $49 will order Oklahoma Tax IDs. Information and applications for obtaining tax ids can be found free of charge on the Tax Commission site.

“While these services are not illegal, we want the taxpayer to know that they can find the same information free of charge on our site and avoid paying unnecessary fees,” Ross said. “We are also concerned that the information provided on these sites may not be the most current tax advice, forms and procedures that may be available to the taxpayer on our own site.”

The Tax Commission also provides a free New Business Workshop seminar for those interested in starting a business. These workshops include valuable information on filling out the business registration packet, applying for various licenses and permits, and also a time for one-on-one questions with the instructor. Times and statewide locations of the workshops can be found on the agency website at www.tax.ok.gov.