Penn. Begins Roadside Audits Of Out-of-State Trucking Firms

img src="/sites/default/files/images/articles/printeditiontag_new.gif" width=120 align=right>Pennsylvania officials said the state recently began conducting roadside tax audits to ensure trucking companies and shippers were paying their taxes, adopting a tactic truckers traveling through New Jersey have faced for years.

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue said it began conducting the audits in January as a result of a new law passed in 2002, but planned to step up the inspections now that the weather is warmer. The department said it has found in roadside stops that more than 30% of out-of-state trucking companies and shippers owed taxes.

“We consider this a big problem in Pennsylvania,” said Michael J. Cibroski, director of collection and taxpayer services with the revenue department. “We’re definitely going to be out there often going forward.”