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Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) -- A SOAH Administrative Law Judge is a neutral, experienced attorney who conducts conferences before the hearing, issues pre-hearing orders, and controls the course of the hearing. When the hearing on the merits is convened, the ALJ presides and listens to the parties’ evidence. After the hearing, the ALJ will consider the evidence and write a Proposal for Decision that recommends an outcome. In some cases, the ALJ has the authority to issue the final decision. But, in the majority of cases, the final decision is made by a person within the state agency or by the board or commission that referred the matter to SOAH (in state tax cases, for instance, the final decision is made by the State Comptroller).
Comptroller -- an elected state official who is placed in charge of the state’s finances, including tax collection, accounting, revenue estimation and treasury.
Enterprise Zone -- a designation that encourages development in blighted areas by providing tax and regulatory relief to businesses that locate operations in the area.
Excise Tax -- a type of sales tax that is usually applied to a narrow range of products (such as gasoline and alcohol) and is indirectly paid by the consumer.
Gross Receipts Tax -- a tax on the total gross revenues of a company, regardless of their source. A gross receipts tax is similar to a sales tax, but it is levied on the seller of goods or services rather than the consumer.
Managed Audit -- a contract between the Department of Revenue (and/or State Comptroller’s office) and your business. It allows you to perform some (or all) of the audit functions. This is a PROACTIVE step that is less disruptive and less expensive than an audit conducted by state/local personnel.
Nexus -- the substantial physical presence of a business in a taxing jurisdiction. A state is not entitled to collect apportioned taxes from a company unless nexus in that state has been established.
Non-Statutory Incentives -- incentives that are offered to companies at the discretion of economic development entities depending on the demonstrated economic impact (capital investment, number of jobs, etc.) of the relocation, expansion, or retention project.
Sales Tax -- a consumption tax on goods and services, usually paid by the consumer at the point of purchase and remitted to the state or local taxing jurisdiction by the seller.
Severance Tax -- a state tax levied on the volume or value of oil/gas production; usually calculated at a flat rate per cubic foot of oil/gas produced or as a percentage of the oil/gas produced.
Site Selection -- the process of choosing the optimal location for a business based on qualities such as availability of customers, quality of available workforce, physical characteristics (such as real estate cost and available space), zoning regulations, and available business incentives.
State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) -- an independent agency within the executive branch of the State of Texas. SOAH conducts hearings and mediations in response to referrals from more than 50 state agencies and governmental entities. SOAH’s mission is to conduct fair, prompt, and efficient hearings and mediations, and to provide fair, reasoned, and timely decisions.
Statutory Incentives -- incentives offered to companies automatically by economic development entities regardless of the economic impact of the relocation, expansion, or retention projects.
Use Tax -- a tax assessed upon otherwise "tax free" tangible personal property purchased by a resident of the assessing state for use, storage or consumption of goods in that state (not for resale), regardless of where the purchase took place. The use tax is typically assessed at the same rate as the sales tax that would have been owed (if any) had the same goods been purchased in the state of residence.
Tax Incentives -- reductions, exclusions, or exemptions from tax liabilities. These are usually offered to businesses as enticements to engage in a specified activity (relocation of a business, employment of a certain number of local workers, investment in capital goods) for a certain period of time.
Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) -- the Texas state agency that regulates all phases of the alcoholic beverage industry in Texas. The duties of the commission include regulating sales, taxation, importation, manufacturing, transporting and advertising alcoholic beverages.
Voluntary Disclosure Agreement (VDA) -- a contract between a taxpayer and a state or local government that is designed to bring taxpayers with liabilities into compliance with the laws of that state or local government. If a delinquent taxpayer enters into a VDA prior to being audited, benefits that can often be realized include limitation of the prior look-back period, abatement of penalties, full or partial interest abatement, friendlier sales/use tax audits and closure for prior period liabilities.
Well Servicing Tax -- a state tax imposed on oil and gas well servicers who own, control or furnish the equipment and tools used to provide the well service or use any chemical, electrical or mechanical process in providing the well service; often calculated as a percentage of the taxable service provided.
