COLUMBUS, Ohio – Have you shopped on the Internet or through catalogues and not been charged Ohio sales tax?
READ MORE: In the Columbus Dispatch
And if so, did you later pay what you owed on those purchases on your state tax return?
C’mon, be honest.
For a lot of Ohio tax filers the answer to the latter is no.
In an effort to boost awareness of the often-ignored use tax, there’s a new box on state tax returns this year asking filers who don’t declare such taxes, to “certify” that they’ve made no online or catalogue purchases by checking the box.
The box appears on line 19 of this year’s 1040 form.
In past years, filers simply would have written the amount owed, or left it blank.
But now, instead of just ignoring it, you’ll have to decide whether to openly lie.
Gary Gudmundson, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Taxation, said those filing electronic returns will not be able to file them unless they check the box or report an amount due. The state will not refuse incomplete paper returns submitted by mail, he said.
The goal, Gudmundson said, is to make more taxpayers aware of their obligation to pay the tax. The state has no new “campaign to more vigorously enforce compliance with the use tax law.”