NASHVILLE, Tenn. - On Nov. 15, 2005, Andrew W. Thompson Sr., president of Cleveland Tire Center, Inc., located at 4699 North Lee Highway in Cleveland, Tenn., surrendered himself to authorities at the Bradley County Sheriff's Office for sales tax evasion. The Special Investigations Section of the Tennessee Department of Revenue conducted the investigation leading to the indictment and surrender of Thompson, age 58. Bond was set at $20,000.

"The Department of Revenue is committed to applying Tennessee's tax laws and policies uniformly to all taxpayers to ensure a level playing field,” said Revenue Commissioner Loren L. Chumley. “The department cannot and will not allow people engaged in fraudulent tax activities to have a competitive advantage over honest businesspeople."

Thompson was indicted by the Bradley County Grand Jury on Oct. 26, 2005, on 36 counts of sales tax fraud. The indictment charged that Thompson unlawfully, willfully, and knowingly evaded and defeated sales tax due the state of Tennessee by causing the corporation to file false sales tax returns for Cleveland Tire Center, Inc., for the period Jan. 1, 2000, through Dec. 31, 2002. These fraudulent actions resulted in Cleveland Tire Center, Inc., failing to report $1,263,782.63 of taxable sales for the business and failing to remit $105,895.59 of the proper sales tax collected and due. This is in violation of Tenn. Code Ann. Section 67-1-1440(g).

If convicted, Thompson could be sentenced to a maximum of two years in the state penitentiary and fined $3,000 for each of the 36 counts relating to his failure to remit sales tax collected and causing false returns to be filed. In addition, civil tax, interest, and penalties are due the state.

These cases are pursued criminally by the department in cooperation with local district attorneys general.

Citizens who suspect violations of the Tennessee revenue laws should call the toll-free tax fraud hot line at (800) FRAUDTX (372-8389).

The Department of Revenue collects approximately 92 percent of total state tax revenue. During the 2004-2005 fiscal year, the department collected $9.6 billion in state taxes and fees. In addition to collecting state taxes, $1.7 billion of local sales tax was collected by the department for local governments during the 2004-2005 fiscal year. Besides collecting taxes, the department enforces the revenue laws fairly and impartially in an effort to encourage voluntary taxpayer compliance. The department also apportions revenue collections for distribution to the various state funds and local units of government. To learn more about the department, log on to www.Tennessee.gov/revenue.

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