Tom Wilkinson, CMI is the Principal at B2B Sales Tax, LLC.  

Although there are supposed marketing benefits in speaking about yourself in the third person – that opening sentence will just about do it for me.  Please be advised that I am Tom Wilkinson, and I am writing this “About” section to introduce myself and offer my services to help your company with its sales tax challenges.  And in a world where technology is changing just about everything there surely are many sales tax challenges for new, established, and expanding businesses.

Through audit defense, overpayment recovery reviews, and strategic planning I have delivered significant results for numerous manufacturing, pharma, R & D, technology, construction, printing, distribution and service companies across the USA – ranging from startups to Fortune 100 brands.

Constantly changing sales tax laws are always open to interpretation.  But professional objectivity and the clients’ best interest must be paramount.  I always support my findings and explain the pertinent statute and guidance in an easy-to-understand format.  Educating client staff in proper compliance so that they can manage day to day transactions provides significant future value to the client.

I worked as a supervisory investigator and sales tax auditor at the Massachusetts Department of Revenue for the first 12 years of my sales tax career and have worked in the private sector ever since. And with a total of more than 25 years of sales tax experience I can truly say that I would much rather help clients than audit taxpayers.

Working for the government was a great experience. Having learned from the “inside out” how state auditors approach, execute, and process sales tax audits has proved invaluable in my work representing clients in the private sector.  Understanding and respecting that the auditors have a job to do is a simple concept that often gets lost on some of the more aggressive representative firms.  Starting out on the wrong foot can make the process far more complicated, time consuming, and costly than need be.

I have been a long-term member in good standing with the Institute for Professionals in Taxation and have earned the professional designation of CMI (Certified Member of the Institute). The following section from the website of the Institute describes the CMI designation:  “This designation is widely known as a mark of achievement and distinction in the sales and use tax field.  The CMI designation is more than a mere credential; it is a demonstration of expertise in business sales and use taxation.”

Staying current with the constantly changing sales tax laws is an essential part of the profession.  I subscribe to and actually read online sales tax alerts, regularly attend professional webinars and symposiums, do extensive audit research, engage in regular discussions with a network of tax professionals developed through the years, and most importantly regularly perform and manage sales tax reviews in multiple jurisdictions.

I have always believed that you learn by doing and that you should never stop learning.

Dealing with the complexities of the ever-changing sales tax laws can be a daunting and ultimately quite costly task for nonprofessionals.  I thoroughly enjoy helping new, established, and expanding companies manage those challenges as they work to preserve capital and grow their business.

Personal commitment on every engagement is guaranteed.

You can contact me at: B2B Sales Tax. LLC