The Georgia Revenue Department has updated its regulations on the use of Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to pay Sales and Use Tax returns and reports. The liability due with any return, report or document must be paid via EFT when it exceeds $10,000.

The commissioner of the Georgia Department of Revenue has made the decision to start enforcing the penalty, in most cases, on all sales and use tax audit assessments. This penalty, which starts at 5% and increases 5% every month until it tops out at 25% , can be substantial. This penalty has been on the books for years and is legally enforcable by the sales and use tax laws and regulations of Georgia. In the past, the penalty waiver was almost always automatic if you remitted a check for all taxes and interest due. Under the new enforcement policies, the penalty will be enforced if the current audit results in similiar dollar liabilities from the previous audit or if mistakes identified on the earlier audit have not been corrected.

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During the September 16, 2003 elections, the following Georgia counties voted to increase their local sales and use taxes by 1%: Baker, Bulloch, Clayton, Cobb, Colquitt, Crawford, Evans, Gilmer, Haralson, Lanier, Liberty, McDuffie, McIntosh, Newton, Sumter, Toombs, Twiggs, Union, Wheeler, Wilkes. These taxes go into effect January 1, 2004.