This free online service is offered as an alternative to the paper form that businesses previously were required to complete in order to register for business taxes. Instead, the online service provides an easy to navigate form that can be completed any time that is convenient, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. After submitting the required information, the business applicant will receive instant confirmation that Maine Revenue Services has received the tax application.

"We realize that starting a business is hard work. This online registration service makes one part of that start-up in Maine a lot easier," said Jerome Gerard, Acting Executive Director of Maine Revenue Services. "We've heard from businesses that appreciate the time-savings and convenience of online registration. The nearly paperless process is also saving time and money at Maine Revenue Services."

Maine Revenue Services receives more than 11,251 registrations per year for sales and use, income tax withholding, and service provider tax combined. The online service provides a convenient option for time-crunched businesses. Applicants only need to view and complete those parts of the form that are required for the particular registrations being filed, in contrast to the paper form which is lengthy and includes information for all business tax registration types. Additionally, the online form automatically checks applications for completeness and will notify the applicant of any missing information that is required. This speeds up the registration processing time.

The online registration service, created in partnership with InforME, the state's e-government portal provider, became available for sales, use, and withholding tax registration in March, 2007, and for service provider tax registration in August, 2007. More tax types will be made available for online registration over the next year. More than 2,500 businesses have already registered for taxes online using the new service.