The State of New Jersey continues to seize both US and Canadian plated trucks for failure to pay the state Corporate Business Tax (CBT).
The CBT is applied to all trucking companies making any pickups or delivery in the state regardless if they have a terminal in the US or not. Just as the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) did in 2003, the Alliance has reached out to state officials to seek a voluntary compliance arrangement and an agreement has been reached once again.
A voluntary compliance initiative will be taking place between the CTA and the NJ Division of Taxation starting in November 2015 and ending December 31, 2015. It offers CTA members the opportunity to voluntarily come forward to register their business and file the appropriate taxes.
For OTA/CTA members, the benefit of taking part in this program is that the carrier will be eligible for the favorable terms that are offered under the Voluntary Disclosure Program. Only OTA/CTA members will be processed under this specific agreement.
Limited Look-Back – Under the agreement with the CTA, the State of New Jersey will only require payment of the CBT for the current tax year (2015) plus the prior three years (2012-2014). A statutory 5% penalty and interest charge will also apply.
No Corporate Tax Returns Required for Previous Tax years for CBT Minimum Tax Filers – New Jersey will not require carriers who qualify for the minimum tax payment (presently US$500) to file a CBT return for previous tax years (2012-2015). Only for 2016 and future years. In order to minimize the administrative cost of compliance, New Jersey has agreed to accept a statement on company letterhead certifying that the company has no property or employees in New Jersey, and has little relative activity (miles) in the state and that the company is a minimum tax filer. New Jersey will then fill out the tax forms for each company to denote that you are a minimum filer for tax years 2012-2015. (Your company will have to fill out required CBT forms for the 2016 tax year and future years). The New Jersey Division of Taxation has extended this offer in good faith. New Jersey retains the right to pursue any company participating in this program that is in fact liable for greater-than-minimum tax.
Opportunity for Previously Assessed Companies – The agreement is available to carriers who have not been previously contacted by the State. However, the State of New Jersey has indicated to CTA that they will consider potential remedies for Canadian carriers previously assessed on a case-by-case basis.
To obtain the instructions to participate in this CTA-NJ voluntary disclosure program, CTA carrier members can contact Jonathan.Blackham@184.107.41.74