Alert to business owners about misleading letter

Rhode Island Tax Administrator David M. Sullivan today cautioned Rhode Island business owners about a potentially misleading letter that some business owners have received recently from an organization calling itself Rhode Island Corporate Compliance.

The letter tells business owners that failure to satisfy “minimum annual filing requirements” in a timely manner causes their business to be in “bad standing” with the state. The letter says that Rhode Island Corporate Compliance can help a business “avoid potential non-compliance” – if the business owner sends a $125 “Document Fee.”

“The letter is presented and written in such a way that business owners could easily be confused and misled,” Sullivan said. “Let me be clear: Neither the Rhode Island Division of Taxation nor any other Rhode Island state agency sent that letter.”

Businesses typically must file an annual return with the Rhode Island Division of Taxation, Sullivan said. And in certain circumstances, a business may need a letter of good standing or a certificate of good standing from the Rhode Island Division of Taxation. But in so doing, they use officially sanctioned Rhode Island Division of Taxation forms, and pay the required tax or filing charge, Sullivan said.

The letter from Rhode Island Corporate Compliance is not an officially sanctioned Rhode Island Division of Taxation form, and the Rhode Island Division of Taxation does not charge a $125 “Document Fee,” Sullivan said. Anyone with questions about their annual tax filing obligations should contact the Rhode Island Division of Taxation at (401) 574-8829 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. business days.

Rhode Island Secretary of State of State A. Ralph Mollis is also urging Rhode Island business owners to be wary of the direct mail solicitation from Rhode Island Corporate Compliance.

The official-looking letter cites a state law that requires corporations to keep records of accounts, minutes and shareholders. It directs recipients to submit an “Annual Disclosure Statement” along with a “Document Fee” of $125. But the letter did not come from the Secretary of State’s office or any other state agency. Mollis tracked the return address to a postal box at a UPS store in downtown Providence.

Anyone with questions about the direct mail solicitation should contact the Secretary of State’s office at (401) 222-3040 or corporations@sos.ri.gov.