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Montana Introduces Online Business Tax Payments

March 3, 2004 /

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Bear Paw Development Corporation is a private non-profit organization created for the purpose of administering programs to help improve regional economic conditions in Hill, Blaine, Liberty, Chouteau and Phillips Counties and the Fort Belknap and Rocky Boy's Indian Reservations.

Montana’s Department of Revenue Web site https://app.discoveringmontana.com/bustax/ is now providing businesses with an online service to pay their state withholding taxes.

http://www.govtech.net/news/news.php?id=89586

Montana’s Business Tax Express service allows businesses to make withholding tax payments with minimal effort and paperwork. To begin, businesses need to establish an online account, which takes less than five minutes. After that, a business owner just needs to log in to make a payment or file a tax return, enter the necessary data and print a receipt. The payment will automatically be withdrawn from the organization’s bank account.

More than 38,000 Montana businesses are eligible to take advantage of the Business Tax Express service. The online service also allows a company to transmit payments and filings on behalf of multiple businesses, and allows "warehousing" of the payment for a later date.

"Business Tax Express will make it easier than ever to file and pay withholding taxes," said Neil Peterson, administrator of the Montana Department of Revenue’s Customer Service Division. "Online payments are more convenient for the customer, and they are much faster to process. There are no paper forms to mail in and no manual processing for the Department of Revenue. This service will truly streamline the process, start to finish."

In 2004, the Department of Revenue plans to add additional tax types to be filed and paid as part of Business Tax Express. Rental vehicle taxes will be added in March, and customers will be able to pay lodging and accommodations taxes online in April.

"Customers now expect to be able to interact with government online," continued Peterson. "We are trying to meet that demand while allowing Montana businesses to benefit from the efficiencies and convenience of handling payments online."

Business Tax Express is the result of an alliance between state government and the private sector. The system was cooperatively developed and is supported by the Montana Department of Revenue, the Montana Department of Administration’s Information Technology Services Division and Montana Interactive Inc., a subsidiary of e-government provider NIC.