Abstract:
A collection and analysis system is described herein. The system may serve as an “eye in the sky” to observe, assess, collect and audit taxes on most non-cash transactions. The system may query an electronic payment processor to produce a dataset relevant to a particular tax authority, analyze that data, and thereafter send instructions directing the electronic payment processor to deduct and transfer tax monies to an account controlled by the tax authority and/or its agents prior to settlement with the vendor. The system may leverage the electronic transaction information, and third party databases and other information, to further identify vendors who are subject to the jurisdiction of the tax authority and to provide auditing services.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Tax collection and compliance is a major expense for tax authorities. Tax collection and compliance includes ensuring that all vendors that are subject to a particular tax, pay the tax, as well as ensuring that the amount paid by each entity is correct. 
         [0002]    Some methods for tax collection and compliance rely on the tax authorities themselves to identify vendors who are not compliant. For example, the tax authorities may rely on investigators to determine vendors doing business in their jurisdiction that are subject to one or more taxes, but that have not filed a tax return. However, such methods are not cost effective and may fail to identify non-compliant vendors. 
         [0003]    Other methods for tax collection and compliance generally have been focused on the point-of-sale. Examples include software that is integrated into the point-of-sale terminals. However, the use of such systems is voluntary and therefore does not address non-compliance or tax evasion. 
         [0004]    Another problem with existing tax collection and compliance systems is that vendors typically pay their tax obligations periodically, and frequently monthly. This creates several drawbacks for tax authorities. One such drawback is that tax authorities typically receive all of the tax revenue at the end of the applicable period and as a result they are not able to determine if the revenue that is received during the period will meet or fail to meet expectations until well after the period has ended and taxes are due. Because tax authorities generally do not have a complete understanding ahead of time of the taxes that are or will be collected with respect to a given period, they may not be able to make necessary spending adjustments or budgetary decisions. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    The collection and analysis system described herein solves many of these issues by submitting queries to the electronic payment processors in order to receive data that is relevant to the particular taxing authority. The system analyzes this data and thereafter sends instructions directing the electronic payment processors to deduct monies owed to the taxing authority prior to settlement with the vendors. The system thus serves as an “eye in the sky” to observe, assess, and collect taxes on most non-cash transactions (i.e., electronic transactions), and also enables a “mandatory” system of tax collection. The system also leverages information and data from the electronic payment processors, the taxing authority, and third party databases to identify vendors who are subject to the jurisdiction of the tax authority and to provide auditing services. 
         [0006]    In an implementation, a plurality of vendors subject to the jurisdiction of a tax authority is identified by a computing device. A deduction to apply to electronic transactions associated with at least one of the identified vendors is determined in accordance with at least one tax associated with the tax authority by the computing device. Instructions are provided to an electronic payment processor to apply the determined deduction to the electronic transactions associated with the at least one vendor by the computing device. An accounting of the electronic transactions processed on behalf of the at least one vendor is received from the electronic payment processor by the computing device. The accounting includes identification of any funds collected as a result of applying the deduction. 
         [0007]    Implementations may include some or all of the following features. Determining a deduction to apply to electronic transactions may include one of determining an applicable percentage or a specified amount. The tax authority may include one of a state, local, federal, and foreign tax authority. The at least one tax may include one or more of a value added tax, a business tax, a sales tax, a gross receipts tax, and a fee. Other taxes or fees may be supported. Identifying a plurality of vendors subject to the jurisdiction of a tax authority may include receiving information from the tax authority and identifying the plurality of vendors based on the information received from the tax authority. The information may include one or more of identities of vendors registered in the jurisdiction, and information pertaining to vendor status. Identifying a plurality of vendors subject to the jurisdiction of a tax authority may include receiving information from the electronic payment processor and identifying the plurality of vendors based on the information received from the electronic payment processor. The information may include geographic data that identifies vendors within the jurisdiction of the tax authority. Identifying a plurality of vendors subject to the jurisdiction of a tax authority may include identifying vendors that are not registered with the tax authority. One or more past tax returns for the at least one vendor may be received from the tax authority. Based on the one or more past tax returns and the accounting of the electronic transactions processed on behalf of the at least one vendor, evidence of underpayment with respect to one or more of the received past tax returns may be identified. The identified evidence may be provided to the tax authority. 
         [0008]    In an implementation, electronic transaction information is received from an electronic payment processor by a computing device. The electronic transaction information includes a plurality of transactions and each transaction is associated with a vendor. A plurality of vendors that are subject to the jurisdiction of a tax authority is identified based on the electronic transaction information by the computing device. Tax return information from the tax authority is received by the computing device. The tax return information identifies a plurality of vendors that filed a tax return with the tax authority. The plurality of vendors that are subject to the jurisdiction of the tax authority is correlated with the tax return information to identify a plurality of vendors that did not file a tax return, but that are subject to the jurisdiction of the tax authority by the computing device. A report is provided to the tax authority that includes the identified plurality of vendors. 
         [0009]    In an implementation, a computing device submits queries to the electronic payment processors and then, in response to those queries, receives datasets of electronic transaction information from the electronic payment processors. The electronic transaction information includes a plurality of transactions and each transaction is associated with a vendor. A plurality of vendors that are subject to the jurisdiction of a tax authority is identified based on the electronic transaction information by the computing device. The computing device also will use data and tax return information from the taxing authority. The tax return information includes a plurality of vendors that filed a tax return with the tax authority. The computing device will correlate the different datasets to identify a plurality of vendors that did not file a tax return, but that are subject to the jurisdiction of the tax authority by the computing device. A report is provided to the tax authority that includes the identified plurality of vendors. Ultimately, the computing device will send execution instructions directing the electronic payment processors to deduct monies owed to the taxing authorities prior to settlement with the vendors. 
         [0010]    Implementations may include some or all of the following features. The electronic transaction information may be correlated with the tax return information to identify a plurality of vendors that owe or underpaid a tax to the tax authority. A deduction to apply to electronic transactions associated with at least one of the identified vendors that are subject to the jurisdiction of the tax authority may be determined in accordance with at least one tax associated with the tax authority. Instructions may be provided to the electronic payment processor to apply the determined deductions to the electronic transactions associated with the at least one vendor. The tax may be one of a sales tax, a value added tax, a business tax, a gross receipts tax, and a fee. 
         [0011]    This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the embodiments, there is shown in the drawings example constructions of the embodiments; however, the embodiments are not limited to the specific methods and instrumentalities disclosed. In the drawings: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  is an illustration of an example environment for providing tax collection and compliance; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is an illustration of an example collection and analysis system; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is an operational flow of an implementation of a method for determining a deduction to apply to electronic transactions associated with one or more vendors; 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is an operational flow of an implementation of a method for identifying vendors that did not file a tax return; 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is an operational flow of an implementation of a method for identifying vendors that may have underpaid a tax; 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  shows an exemplary computing environment in which example embodiments and aspects may be implemented. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0019]      FIG. 1  is an illustration of an example environment  100  for providing tax collection and compliance. The environment  100  may include a collection and analysis system  140  in communication with one or more vendors  130 , tax authorities  110 , and electronic payment processors  120  through a network. The network may be a variety of network types including the public switched telephone network (PSTN), a cellular telephone network, and a packet switched network (e.g., the Internet). 
         [0020]    The vendors  130  may include any entity (i.e., a person, corporation, or partnership) selling, renting or leasing tangible property, or providing taxable services within the jurisdiction of a tax authority  110 . The tax authorities  110  may include the federal government, state governments, and local or municipal governments. The tax authorities  110  may further include foreign governments. The taxes collected and/or assessed by the tax authorities  110  may include a sale tax, gross receipts tax, business tax, value added tax, fee, and any other type of fee or tax that may be incurred on an entire transaction or on part of a transaction. 
         [0021]    The electronic payment processors  120  may process electronic payments for the vendors  130 . The electronic payments may include payment card transactions or any other type of electronic transaction. The electronic payment processors  120  may include banks, payment card issuers, and one or more entities that process electronic payments on behalf of the banks, payment card issuers, or any other entities. 
         [0022]    As will be described in further detail with respect to  FIG. 2 , the collection and analysis system  140  may provide tax analysis services to one or more tax authorities  110 . One such service is the identification of vendors  130  that may be subject to the jurisdiction of the tax authority  110 . For example, a tax authority  110  may contract with a collection and analysis system  140  to identify vendors  130  that are subject to the jurisdiction of the tax authority  110  and/or subject to a particular tax imposed by the tax authority  110 . The jurisdiction of the tax authority may include vendors  110  geographically located in the jurisdiction, or that do business in the jurisdiction. In some implementations, the collection and analysis system  140  may identify the vendors  130  based on electronic transaction data  125  provided by the electronic processors  120 . 
         [0023]    The collection and analysis system  140  may provide tax collection services to one or more tax authorities  110 . In some implementations, the system may execute tax collection by querying an electronic payment processor to receive electronic transaction data that affects the relevant taxing authority. The system then may analyze this data and send execution instructions directing the electronic payment processor to deduct monies owed to the taxing authority prior to settlement with the vendor. 
         [0024]    For example, the collection and analysis system  140  may determine a deduction for the electronic payment processors  120  to apply to the electronic payments (or any other type of electronic transaction) processed for each vendor  130 . The deduction may be individually determined for each vendor  130  by the collection and analysis system  140  based on the particular tax or taxes assessed by the tax authority  110 . The deduction may be a fixed or specified amount of money, or may be an applicable percentage that is applied to the gross transactions processed for each vendor  130 . The applicable percentage may be applied to each individual transaction, or may be applied to many transactions in a batch. The transactions may be requests to process payment card sales (or any other type of electronic transaction). The funds deducted from each vendor  130  may then be provided to the tax authority  110  immediately, or according to a schedule. 
         [0025]    The collection and analysis system  140  may further provide tax reporting services to one or more tax authorities  110  and/or vendors  130 . The reporting services may include generating one or more reports  145  to the tax authorities  110  of the funds collected from the vendors  130 . The reports  145  may be generated and provided periodically (e.g., daily, monthly, quarterly, etc.), or may be generated and provided when requested. 
         [0026]    The tax filing services may include the collection and analysis system  140  assisting with the preparation of, or preparing of one or more tax filings for the vendors  130 . Other types of filings or information may be supported. For example, the collection and analysis system  140  may provide a vendor  130  with an accounting of the funds that have been deducted for a particular tax by the vendor  130  over a quarter or fiscal year, and may determine (based on vendor input) if any additional funds are owed by the vendor  130  or if the vendor  130  is entitled to a refund. The collection and analysis system  140  may then assist the vendor  130  with paying any underage or collecting any overage in the form of a refund. In some implementations, the collection and analysis system  140  may assist the vendor  130  in preparing and filing a tax return with the tax authorities  110 . 
         [0027]    The collection and analysis system  140  may further provide auditing services to the tax authorities  110 . Through the auditing services the collection and analysis system  140  may identify vendors  130  who have underpaid a particular tax in the past, or that should have paid a particular tax, but that did not. In some implementations, the collection and analysis system  140  may perform the auditing services by correlating the electronic transaction data  125  provided from the electronic payment processors  120  and tax return data  117 . The tax return data  117  may include tax returns and other types of filings or information provided to the tax authorities by the vendors  130 . The electronic transaction data  125  may be a history of electronic transactions (i.e., credit card transactions) processed for the vendor and may be used by the collection and analysis system  140  to estimate what taxes each vendor  130  should have paid in a particular tax year. The estimated taxes may be compared against the taxes that were actually paid as indicated by the tax return data  117  to identify possible delinquent or owed taxes. 
         [0028]    The collection and analysis system  140  provides several advantages to tax authorities  110 , including, but not limited to, the assessment and collection of tax monies owed to the tax authority from the relevant electronic transactions. The system  140  also enables the collection of monies from vendors  130  that either are underreporting their tax or simply not reporting at all. The collection and analysis system  140  serves as a hub that coordinates the collection, processing, and payment of taxes among the tax authorities  110 , vendors  130 , and electronic payment processors  120 . With respect to the tax authorities  110 , the vendor  130  identification service helps identify vendors  130  that are subject to the jurisdiction of the tax authority  110  which helps increase the tax base without added costs. The auditing service similarly helps increase revenue to the tax authorities  110  by identifying potential tax evaders or the accidental or intentional underpayment of taxes. The continuous deduction of taxes from the electronic transactions by the electronics payment processors  120  ensures a continuous reliable supply of tax revenue, which may help reduce borrowing costs of the tax authorities  110  and may also help the tax authorities  110  make more accurate projections with respect to the revenue collected by the tax authorities  110  for a given tax period. 
         [0029]    With respect to the vendors  130 , the continuous deduction of taxes from the electronic transactions prevents a vendor  130  from misjudging its tax liabilities and not having sufficient funds at the end of a tax period to meet its obligations. The tax reporting services provide an easy way for the vendor  130  to monitor how much money it has paid over a tax period, and to prepare and file tax returns with a tax authority  110 . 
         [0030]      FIG. 2  is an illustration of an example collection and analysis system  140 . As illustrated, the system  140  includes a plurality of components including a vendor identification engine  210 , a deduction calculation engine  220 , an audit and compliance engine  250 , and an interface and reporting engine  260 . The collection and analysis system  140 , including the various components described herein, may be implemented by one or more computing devices such as the computing system  600  illustrated with respect to  FIG. 6 . While each of the components is shown as part of the collection and analysis system  140 , each component may be implemented separately or without the other components. Thus for example, in some implementations, the system  140  may include only the audit and compliance engine  250 , while in another implementation the system  140  may only include the deduction calculation engine  220 . 
         [0031]    The vendor identification engine  210  may identify one or more vendors  130  that are subject to the jurisdiction of a tax authority  110 . In some implementations, the vendor identification engine  210  may identify the vendors  130  based on electronic transaction data  125  received from the electronic payment processors  120 . The electronic transactions may include records of electronic transactions processed for a variety of vendors over a period of time. The vendor identification engine  210  may then process the electronic transaction data  125  to identify the vendors  130  that are likely to be subject to the jurisdiction of the tax authority  110 . For example, the vendor identification engine  210  may process the electronic transaction data  125  to extract geographical information such as zip codes or cities associated with the vendors  130 , or the customers of the vendors  130 . The vendor identification engine  210  may then identify vendors  130  that are likely to be in the jurisdiction of the tax authority based on the geographic information. 
         [0032]    The vendor information engine  210  may further identify the one or more vendors  130  based on information provided by the tax authorities  110 . This information may include information about the vendors  130  that are currently registered in the jurisdiction (i.e., the registered vendor data  215 ), and information regarding changes to vendor  130  status such as openings, closings, changes of addresses, etc. 
         [0033]    The vendor identification engine  210  may further identify vendors  130  using outside information from third-party sources or databases (i.e., the third-party information  270 ). The third-party sources may include sources such as Dun and Bradstreet or other sources which may help identify the geographical location of vendors  130 . 
         [0034]    In some implementations, the vendor identification engine  210  may query the electronic payment processors  120  to assist in identifying all vendors  130  that are subject to the jurisdiction of the tax authority  110 . For example, the electronic payment processors  120  may identify all vendors  130  that are associated with a particular zip code or geographic area. 
         [0035]    The deduction calculation engine  220  may calculate a deduction for the electronic payment processors  120  to apply to the electronic transactions of each vendor  130 . The applied deduction may be based on one or more taxes or other fees applied by the tax authority  110 . The deduction may be one of an applied percentage or a specified amount. The applied percentage may be a percentage that is deducted from each electronic transaction or that is deducted from batches of transactions. The specified amount may be a dollar amount that is deducted from the electronic transactions. The specified amount may be deducted periodically or every time that a total amount of electronic transactions processed by the electronic payment processors  120  reaches a threshold. 
         [0036]    In some implementations, a deduction may be calculated for single taxes and/or fees assessed by the tax authority  110 . For example, there may be a deduction based on the sales tax and a deduction based on business taxes. The particular rate used for the deduction may be provided by the tax authority  110 , for example. Alternatively, the deduction may be calculated based on a combination of taxes and/or fees. 
         [0037]    The deduction may be calculated only based on the tax, or may be calculated using other information such as the tax return data  117  associated with the vendors  130  or third-party information such as information about an industry associated with the vendor  130 . For example, a state tax authority  110  may impose a 6% sales tax on purchases. Accordingly, when only considering the tax, the deduction calculation engine  220  may determine that the deduction is a 6% applied percentage. However, based on the tax filing of a previous year when compared with the electronic payments processed for the vendor  130  in that same year, the deduction calculation engine  220  may determine that the vendor  130  has a significant amount of cash transactions. To attempt to capture the sales tax associated with these cash transactions, the deduction calculation engine  220  may increase the applied percentage to 8%. The amount of the increase may be determined by the deduction calculation engine  220  based on an estimated ratio of electronic to cash sales for the vendor  130  as well as information about the industry associated with the vendor  130 . For example, industries known to receive a large amount of cash transactions such as restaurants may receive a larger applied percentage than industries known to have a low amount of cash transactions. 
         [0038]    The deduction calculation engine  220  may further periodically revise or adjust the calculated deduction for a vendor  130 . For example, the deduction calculation engine  220  may use vendor tax registration or tax return information from the tax return data  117  to identify trends in the tax obligations of a vendor  130 . For example, the deduction calculation engine  220  may determine that a vendor  130  is likely to owe less business tax this year, and may lower the deduction associated with the vendor  130  to reflect the determination. 
         [0039]    The deduction and calculation engine  220  may further generate and provide instructions to the electronic payment processors  120  to apply a determined deduction to the electronic transactions for each vendor  130 . The instructions may specify that any funds that result from the deductions may be provided to an account associated with the collection and analysis system  140 , or an account associated with the applicable tax authorities  110 . 
         [0040]    The deduction and calculation engine  220  may receive an accounting of the electronic payments processed by the electronic payments processors  120 . The accounting may include indicators of any funds collected from each vendor  130  as a result of applying the deductions. The accounting may be stored by the deduction and calculation engine  220  in the deduction storage  270 . The accounting may be provided to the deduction calculation engine  220  periodically (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly, etc.), or when requested by the deduction calculation engine  220 . 
         [0041]    The audit and compliance engine  250  may process the received stored accounting to verify that the deductions associated with each vendor  130  were properly applied by the electronic payment processors  120 . In addition, the deduction and calculation engine  220  may further verify that any funds purported to have been provided and/or deposited were in fact provided and/or deposited. The audit and compliance engine  250  may process the received stored accounting periodically or when requested by a user or administrator, for example. 
         [0042]    The audit and compliance engine  250  may further audit past tax returns from one or more vendors  130  to identify evidence of past under reporting or non-reporting of taxes. The audit and compliance engine  250  may receive the past tax returns as part of the tax return data  117 . Any evidence of past under reporting or non-reporting of taxes may then be provided to the tax authorities  110 . 
         [0043]    In some implementations, the audit and compliance engine  250  may identify under reporting or non-reporting by a vendor  130  by comparing the current revenue or sales of the vendor  130 , based on current tax return or filing information and/or electronic transactions, with the reported revenue or sales of the vendor  130  from past tax returns or filings. If the reported revenue or sales on past tax returns differs more than an expected amount from the current predicted revenue or sales, then the vendor  130  may be identified as a possible under reporting or non-reporting vendor  130 . 
         [0044]    In some implementations, the audit and compliance engine  250  may identify an under reporting or non-reporting vendor  130  by building a model that predicts the sales or revenue for a vendor  130  at various times based on the current sales and revenue of the vendor  130  as determined from the electronic transaction data  125  associated with the vendor  130 . The model may be built using the electronic transaction data  125  as well as historical information about an industry associated with the vendor  130  such as average growth rate, and other more general information about the economy such as inflation. The model may be generated using a variety of methods including, but not limited to machine learning, artificial intelligence, business analytics, or other statistical methods. 
         [0045]    The audit and compliance engine  250  may then use the model to predict the revenue or sales of the vendor  130  for a previous year or period. The predicted revenue or sales may then be compared against reported revenue or sales from the tax return data  117 . If the reported revenue or sales is different than the predicted revenue or sales by more than a threshold amount, then the vendor  130  may be identified as a possibly under reporting or non-reporting vendor  130 . The audit and compliance engine  250  may also use the model to predict the revenue or sales of a vendor for future or current years. The predicted revenue or sales may then be compared against currently filed tax returns or tax filings and may be used to identify current evidence of under reporting or non-reporting by vendors  130 . 
         [0046]    The audit and compliance engine  250  may further identify under reporting or non-reporting vendors  130  using third-party information  270 . The third party information  270  may include publically available information from sources such as Dun and Bradstreet, or one or more government related filings associated with the vendors  130  such as SEC filings, for example. 
         [0047]    The interface and reporting engine  260  may provide an interface, such as a web page, through which one or more of the vendors  130  and/or tax authorities  110  may interact with the collection and analysis system  140 . The vendors  130  and/or tax authorities  110  may use the interface to view or request one or more reports  145 . In some implementations, the reports  145  may include information about the funds collected from the vendors  130  and provided to the tax authorities  110 . For example, a user associated with a vendor  130  may use a web page to view the amount of funds that have been collected from the vendor  130  and provided to the tax authority  110 . Similarly, a user associated with a tax authority  130  may use a web page to view the amount of funds that have been collected from the vendors  130  so far for a current tax period. 
         [0048]    With respect to the vendors  130 , a vendor  130  may use the interface provided by the interface and reporting engine  260  to request and view a variety of reports  145 . The information in the reports  145  may be customized based on parameters provided by the vendor  130 . For example, the vendor  130  may request reports  145  of funds withheld from the vendor  130  for particular date ranges, for particular taxes, for particular tax authorities  110 , or for particular types of electronic transactions. Other parameters may be supported. 
         [0049]    With respect to the tax authorities  110 , a tax authority  110  may also use the interface provided by the interface and reporting engine  260  to request and view a variety of reports  145 . The information in the reports  145  may be customized based on parameters provided by the tax authority  110 . For example, the tax authority  110  may request reports with revenues collected for particular date ranges, from particular vendors  130 , or for particular taxes. Other parameters may be supported. In some implementations, the parameters may include a request for projected revenue from one or more vendors  130 , or for particular taxes. 
         [0050]    In some implementations, the vendors  130  may further use the interface provided by the interface and reporting engine  260  to file and or prepare tax returns or tax filings with the tax authorities  110 . The tax returns or tax filings may be prepared for a vendor  130  based on the electronic transaction data  125  associated with the vendor  130  (i.e., electronic transactions), along with supplemental data provided by the vendor  130  through the interface. The supplemental data may include expenses, cash revenue, and any other information that may be relevant and/or required for the preparation of a tax return or tax filing. The interface and reporting engine  260  may further electronically file the tax return or filing with the tax authority  110 , as well as assist the vendor  130  in paying any additional tax or taxes owed to the tax authority  110 . 
         [0051]      FIG. 3  is an operational flow of an implementation of a method  300  for determining a deduction to apply to electronic transactions associated with one or more vendors  130 . The method  300  may be implemented by the collection and analysis system  140 . 
         [0052]    A plurality of vendors subject to the jurisdiction of a tax authority is identified at  301 . The plurality of vendors  130  may be identified by the vendor identification engine  210  of the collection and analysis system  140 . In some implementations, the vendors  130  may be identified by processing electronic transaction data received from one or more electronic payment processors  120  to determine geographic information associated with one or more vendors  130 . The vendors  130  with associated geographic information, such as zip codes, that are within the jurisdiction of the tax authority  110  may be identified. In other implementations, the identification may be based on registered vendor data  215  provided by the tax authority  110 , or third-party information  270  such as databases or other public and private sources. 
         [0053]    A deduction to apply to the electronic transactions associated with at least one of the plurality of vendors is determined at  303 . The deduction may be determined by the deduction calculation engine  220  of the collection and analysis system  140 . The deduction may be determined in accordance with one or more taxes imposed by the tax authority  110 . The deduction may be one of an applied percentage or a specified amount. In some implementations, the deduction may be determined based on the tax and other information related to the amount of revenue or sales associated with the vendor  130 . For example, tax returns or tax filings from the tax return data  117  associated with the vendor  130  may be consulted by the deduction calculation engine  220 . 
         [0054]    The determined deduction may be greater than the tax associated with the deduction to account for non-electronic transactions made by the vendor  130 . For example, if the tax is a sales tax of 6%, then the deduction may be 8% to account for cash sales of the vendor  130  that would not be subject to the deduction because they are not electronic transactions. 
         [0055]    Instructions to apply the determined deduction to electronic transactions associated with the at least one vendor are provided at  305 . The instructions may be provided by the deduction calculation engine  220  of the collection and analysis system  140  to one or more of the electronic payment processors  120 . The instructions are executory in nature and may direct that the relevant electronic payment processors  120  deduct the specified amounts or percentages from the transactions prior to settlement with the vendors. The instructions may further direct the electronic payment processors  120  to send the monies to accounts controlled by the tax authority  110  and/or its agents. 
         [0056]    An accounting of the electronic transactions processed on behalf of the at least one vendor is received at  307 . The accounting may be received by the collection and analysis system  140  from the one or more electronic payment processors  120 . The accounting may include the identifiers of the transactions processed by the electronic payment processors  120  on behalf of the one or more vendors  130  and the amount that was deducted from each transaction. The accounting may further indicate whether or not the resulting funds were provided to the tax authorities  110  and/or the collection and analysis system  140 . The collection and analysis system  140  may store the accounting at the deduction storage  270 . 
         [0057]    A report of the applied deductions is provided at  309 . The report  145  may be provided by the interface and reporting engine  260  of the collection and analysis system  140  to one or more of the at least one vendor  130  and/or the tax authority  110 . The report  145  may be generated and provided at the request of the at least one vendor  130  and/or tax authority  110 , or automatically. With respect to the at least one vendor  130 , the report  145  may include the amount of funds that have been collected and provided to the tax authority  110  on behalf of the at least one vendor  130 . With respect to the tax authority  110 , the report  145  may include an amount of funds that have been collected and provided to the tax authority  110  from each vendor  130 , and may further include an estimate of the taxes that the collection and analysis system  140  believes will be collected at the end of the current year or tax period. 
         [0058]      FIG. 4  is an operational flow of an implementation of a method  400  for identifying vendors that did not file a tax return. The method  400  may be implemented by the collection and analysis system  140 . 
         [0059]    Electronic transaction information is received from an electronic payment processor at  401 . This information may be received in response to queries submitted by the collections and analysis system  110 . The electronic transaction information may be received by the vendor identification engine  210  of the collection and analysis system  140 . The electronic transaction information may be received from one or more electronic payment processors  120 . The electronic transaction information may be a plurality of electronic transactions that were processed on behalf of one or more vendors  130 . 
         [0060]    A plurality of vendors that are subject to the jurisdiction of the tax authority is identified at  403 . The plurality of vendors  130  may be identified by the vendor identification engine  210  of the collection and analysis system  140  based on the electronic transaction information. For example, the vendor identification engine  210  may extract geographic information from the electronic transaction information such as zip codes, and may determine the plurality of vendors  130  based on vendors  130  whose transactions are associated with geographic information that falls within the jurisdiction of the tax authority  110 . 
         [0061]    Tax filing information is received from the tax authority at  405 . The tax filing information may be received by the audit and compliance engine  250  of the collection and analysis system  140 . The tax filing information may be part of the tax return data  117  provided by one or more tax authorities  110 , and may indicate one or more taxes paid by one or more of the vendors  130  for one or more years or tax periods. 
         [0062]    The tax filing information is correlated with the plurality of vendors to identify vendors that did not file a tax return at  407 . The tax filing information may be correlated by the audit and compliance engine  250  of the collection and analysis system  130 . The correlation may identify vendors  130  that were subject to the jurisdiction of a tax authority  110  during a particular year or tax period, but that did not file or provide a tax return. In some implementations, the correlation may further estimate the taxes that each vendor  130  may have owed for a particular year or period, and may identify vendors  130  that may have underpaid one or more taxes during the particular year or period. 
         [0063]    A report is provided to the tax authority with the identified vendors that did not file a tax return at  409 . The report may be the report  145  and may be provided by the interface and reporting engine  260  to one or more tax authorities  110 . The report  145  may identify vendors  130  that may not have paid one or more taxes to the tax authority  110 , or that may have underpaid one or more taxes. 
         [0064]      FIG. 5  is an operational flow of an implementation of a method  500  for identifying vendors that may have underpaid a tax. The method  500  may be implemented by the collection and analysis system  140 . 
         [0065]    Electronic transaction information is received from an electronic payment processor at  501 . This information may be received in response to queries submitted by the collections and analysis system  140 . The electronic transaction information may be received by the vendor identification engine  210  of the collection and analysis system  140 . The electronic transaction information may be received from one or more electronic payment processors  120 . The electronic transaction information may be a plurality of electronic transactions that were processed on behalf of one or more vendors  130 . 
         [0066]    An expected tax payment is determined for each of the one or more vendors at  503 . The expected tax payment may be determined by the audit and compliance engine  250  of the collection and analysis system  140 . In some implementations, the estimated tax payment for a vendor may be determined by analyzing the electronic transaction information associated with the vendor over a particular period, and generating the expected payment based on the analysis. 
         [0067]    Tax filing information is received from the tax authority at  505 . The tax filing information may be received by the audit and compliance engine  250  of the collection and analysis system  140 . The tax filing information may be part of the tax return data  117  provided by one or more tax authorities  110 , and may indicate one or more taxes paid by one or more of the vendors  130  for one or more years or tax periods. 
         [0068]    The tax filing information is correlated with the expected tax payments to identify vendors that may owe taxes at  507 . The tax filing information may be correlated with the expected tax payments by the audit and compliance engine  250  of the collection and analysis system  140 . 
         [0069]    A report is provided to the tax authority with the identified vendors that may owe taxes at  509 . The report  145  may be provided by the interface and reporting engine  260  to one or more tax authorities  110 . 
         [0070]      FIG. 6  shows an exemplary computing environment in which example embodiments and aspects may be implemented. The computing system environment is only one example of a suitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality. 
         [0071]    Numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations may be used. Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use include, but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers, handheld or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, embedded systems, distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like. 
         [0072]    Computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer may be used. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Distributed computing environments may be used where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network or other data transmission medium. In a distributed computing environment, program modules and other data may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices. 
         [0073]    With reference to  FIG. 6 , an exemplary system for implementing aspects described herein includes a computing device, such as computing system  600 . In its most basic configuration, computing system  600  typically includes at least one processing unit  602  and memory  604 . Depending on the exact configuration and type of computing device, memory  604  may be volatile (such as random access memory (RAM)), non-volatile (such as read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, etc.), or some combination of the two. This most basic configuration is illustrated in  FIG. 6  by dashed line  606 . 
         [0074]    Computing system  600  may have additional features/functionality. For example, computing system  600  may include additional storage (removable and/or non-removable) including, but not limited to, magnetic or optical disks or tape. Such additional storage is illustrated in  FIG. 6  by removable storage  608  and non-removable storage  610 . 
         [0075]    Computing system  600  typically includes a variety of computer readable media. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by computing system  600  and includes both volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. 
         [0076]    Computer storage media include volatile and non-volatile, and removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Memory  604 , removable storage  608 , and non-removable storage  610  are all examples of computer storage media. Computer storage media include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, electrically erasable program read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by computing system  600 . Any such computer storage media may be part of computing system  600 . 
         [0077]    Computing system  600  may contain communications connection(s)  612  that allow the device to communicate with other devices and/or interfaces. Computing system  600  may also have input device(s)  614  such as a keyboard (software or hardware), mouse, pen, voice input interface, touch interface, etc. Output device(s)  616  such as a display, speakers, printer, etc. may also be included. All these devices are well known in the art and need not be discussed at length here. 
         [0078]    It should be understood that the various techniques described herein may be implemented in connection with hardware or software or, where appropriate, with a combination of both. Thus, the methods and apparatus of the presently disclosed subject matter, or certain aspects or portions thereof, may take the form of program code (i.e., instructions) embodied in tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, or any other machine-readable storage medium where, when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the presently disclosed subject matter. 
         [0079]    Although exemplary implementations may refer to utilizing aspects of the presently disclosed subject matter in the context of one or more stand-alone computer systems, the subject matter is not so limited, but rather may be implemented in connection with any computing environment, such as a network or distributed computing environment. Still further, aspects of the presently disclosed subject matter may be implemented in or across a plurality of processing chips or devices, and storage may similarly be effected across a plurality of devices. Such devices might include personal computers, network servers, and handheld devices, for example. 
         [0080]    Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.