Audit of $526M in Indiana tax mistakes pending

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Auditors reviewing $526 million in tax errors made by the state could begin reviewing the state’s tax collection agency soon.

Auditors for the international accounting firm Deloitte plan to brief state lawmakers Monday on what they would review once they begin their audit. The briefing is scheduled during a meeting of the State Budget Committee.

Indiana’s Department of Revenue discovered in December it had lost track of $320 million in corporate tax collections. Four months later, the state also discovered it had not paid $206 million in local income taxes owed to counties.

The errors led Gov. Mitch Daniels to force out three top officials in the revenue department. The second error also spurred Republican legislators to acquiesce to Democrats who had pushed for an external audit since last December.