EFTPS Illinois State Pilot Survey

Illinois State Pilot Survey

350 Small Business Owners

November 2007

INTRODUCTION

Hello. My name is __________ with KRC Research, an independent market research company. I am calling on behalf of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Illinois Department of Revenue. May I speak with ________?

We are conducting an opinion survey of how Illinois small businesses and self-employed individuals pay their federal and state taxes. We would like to include your opinions for an important research project that will help us better understand your needs.

This is NOT a sales call. This call is for research purposes only. All of your individual responses will remain completely private and will not be shared with anyone else or linked to you. This survey should take about 10 minutes of your time.

If you have any comments regarding this interview, please reference OMB Control Number 1510-0074 and send your comments to Melanie Rigney, Financial Management Service, 401 14^th St. SW, Room 521B, Washington, DC 20227.

IF NEEDED:

IF RESPONDENT EXPRESSES CONCERN AT ANY POINT DURING THE INTERVIEW, REASSURE THEM THAT YOU DO NOT WORK FOR THE GOVERNMENT. YOU ARE WORKING FOR AN INDEPENDENT RESEARCH COMPANY. THEIR ANSWERS WILL BE KEPT COMPLETELY CONFIDENTIAL AND THEIR INDIVIDUAL RESPONSES WILL NOT BE SHARED WITH ANYONE OR LINKED TO THEM.

IF RESPONDENT WANTS A PHONE NUMBER TO CALL TO VERIFY THIS IS A LEGITIMATE SURVEY: MELANIE RIGNEY AT 202-874-6763.

SCREENER

S1. ZIP CODE: RECORD FROM SAMPLE. ________________________

S2. Do you, or does any member of your household, currently work for or have previously worked for in the past five years . . . (READ LIST)?

TERMINATE The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 1

TERMINATE Federal Reserve Board or/and Federal Reserve Bank 2

TERMINATE The U.S. Department of the Treasury 3

TERMINATE A Tax Preparer, CPA, or accounting firm 4

CONTINUE None of the above (VOL) 5

TERMINATE Don’t know/refused (VOL) 9

S3. Which of the following best describes your involvement in the decision of how your company’s federal and state business taxes are paid? (READ LIST)

CONTINUE I am the primary decision maker 1

CONTINUE I have a great deal of influence on the decision 2

I have some influence on the decision 3

I am not involved in the decision 4

Don’t know/refused (VOL) 9

[IF S3 =1 OR 2 CONTINUE. IF S3 =3 OR 4 OR 9, ASK TO SPEAK TO THE DECISION MAKER FOR HOW THE COMPANY’S FEDERAL AND STATE TAXES ARE PAID AND START AGAIN FROM S2.]

The following questions are to ensure we are speaking to a range of small businesses and self-employed individuals. Your specific answers will not be shared with the Department of Treasury, the Illinois Department of Revenue, or anyone else.

S4. Which of the following taxes do you regularly pay using EFTPS? (READ LIST)

Federal employment liability taxes 1

State employment liability taxes 2

Other federal taxes. 3

TERMINATE None/Don’t know/refused 9

IF S4 ≠ 1 AND 2, TERMINATE

S5. How long has your company been using EFTPS to pay its FEDERAL employment tax liability? (READ LIST; TRACK TERMINATION INCIDENCE FOR EACH)

One year or less 1

TERMINATE Over one year 2

TERMINATE Over five years 3

TERMINATE Don’t know/refused 9

S6. Thinking about your company’s total FEDERAL tax liability, or how much you paid in federal taxes in 2006, within which of the following ranges would your company’s federal employment tax liability fall? (READ LIST)

TERMINATE None 1

$20,000 or less 2

$20,000 to $50,000 3

TERMINATE Over $50,000 4

TERMINATE Don’t know/refused (VOL) 9

SURVEY

1 Overall, how satisfied are you with EFTPS as a way to pay your federal AND state business taxes? (READ LIST)

Very satisfied 1

Somewhat satisfied 2

Neither satisfied nor unsatisfied 3

Somewhat unsatisfied 4

Very unsatisfied 5

Don’t know/refused (VOL) 6

2 Now I am going to read you a list of places where you may have heard about EFTPS as an option to pay both your federal and state business taxes. For each one I read, please tell me if you have or have not heard about EFTPS from that source. First… (READ LIST. ACCEPT ALL THAT APPLY.)

On the EFTPS Web site 1

From a U.S. Department of the Treasury mailing 2

From an Illinois Department of Revenue mailing 3

From the Illinois Department of Revenue Web site 4

From my tax preparer or accountant 5

From another small business owner 6

At a workshop or event 7

Through a professional organization 8

From the Internal Revenue Service or IRS 9

Through a bank or financial institution 10

Other (specify) __________ 11

Don’t know/refused (VOL) 99

3 When you decided to enroll in EFTPS, how important was the ability to pay state withholding taxes at the same time as federal taxes in your decision-making process?

Very important 1

Somewhat important 2

Neither important nor unimportant 3

Somewhat unimportant 4

Very unimportant 5

Don’t know/refused (VOL) 6

4. How likely are you to continue using EFTPS to pay state withholding and federal taxes?

Very likely 1

Somewhat likely 2

Neither likely nor unlikely 3

Somewhat unlikely 4

Very unlikely 5

Don’t know/refused (VOL) 6

5. Businesses can make federal tax payments by phone. How likely would you be to make state withholding and federal tax payments in a single call?

Very likely 1

Somewhat likely 2

Neither likely nor unlikely 3

Somewhat unlikely 4

Very unlikely 5

Don’t know/refused (VOL) 6

How important is each of the following in your decision to continue using EFTPS – extremely important, very important, somewhat important, not that important, or not important at all. (REPEAT RESPONSE CATEGORIES AS NECESSARY).

		Ext impt	Very impt	Somewhat impt	Not that impt	Not impt at all	DK (vol)
6.	The ability to pay state and federal payments in a single session.	1	2	3	4	5	9
7.	Time saved by not mailing payments or taking payments to the bank.	1	2	3	4	5	9
8.	Ease of use.	1	2	3	4	5	9
9.	Security.	1	2	3	4	5	9
10.	The ability to make a payment 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.	1	2	3	4	5	9
11.	The ability to schedule payments.	1	2	3	4	5	9
12.	The immediate confirmation of a payment.	1	2	3	4	5	9
13.	The ability to speak to a live customer service representative during normal business hours.	1	2	3	4	5	9
14.	The ability to track payment history.	1	2	3	4	5	9

How satisfied are you with each of the following aspects of the EFTPS Web site – very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, neither satisfied nor unsatisfied, somewhat unsatisfied, or very unsatisfied? (REPEAT RESPONSE CATEGORIES AS NECESSARY).

		Very satisfied	Some satisfied	Neither	Some unsat	Very unsat	DK (vol)
15.	The enrollment process.	1	2	3	4	5	9
16.	Frequently Asked Questions or FAQs.	1	2	3	4	5	9
17.	Organization of information.	1	2	3	4	5	9
18.	Ease of making or scheduling tax payments.	1	2	3	4	5	9
19.	Clarity of instructions.	1	2	3	4	5	9

How interested would you be to pay the following state taxes by EFTPS – very interested, somewhat interested, or not interested?

		Very interested	Somewhat interested	Not interested	DK (vol)
20.	Sales and use taxes.	1	2	4	9
21.	Excise taxes.	1	2	4	9
22.	Unemployment taxes.	1	2	4	9

23. And which of the following state taxes would you MOST like to pay using EFTPS? (READ LIST. ACCEPT ONE RESPONSE.)

Sales and use taxes 1

Excise taxes 2

Unemployment taxes 3

All the above (VOL) 4

Don’t know/refused (VOL) 6

How interested would you be in using EFTPS to make employment tax payments in the following states – very interested, somewhat interested, slightly interested, or not interested at all? (REPEAT RESPONSE CATEGORIES AS NECESSARY).

		Very	Somewhat	Slightly	Not at all	DK (vol)
24.	Wisconsin	1	2	3	4	9
25.	Iowa	1	2	3	4	9
26.	Kentucky	1	2	3	4	9
27.	Missouri	1	2	3	4	9
28.	Michigan	1	2	3	4	9

29. What, if anything, do you dislike about using EFTPS to pay both federal and state business taxes? (OPEN-END. PROBE FOR MULTIPLE RESPONSES.)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

DEMOGRAPHICS

The following questions are for classification purposes only.

D1. How many employees does your company have in total? (READ LIST IF NEEDED)

Fewer than 5 1

5-10 2

11-25 3

26-50 4

51 to 100 5

More than 100 6

Don’t know/refused (VOL) 9

D2. Which of the following best describes your company? (READ LIST.)

Sole proprietorship 1

Partnership 2

Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) 3

“S” Corporation 4

“C” Corporation 5

Publicly held corporation 6

Franchise 7

Other (specify) ____________(VOL) 8

Don’t know/refused (VOL) 9

D3. May I confirm your title? (READ LIST IF NEEDED)

CEO/President 1

Owner 2

CFO 3

Financial Manager 4

Other (specify) ____________ 5

Don’t know/refused (VOL) 9

D4. In what industry would you classify your company?

(Specify): __________

Don’t know/refused (VOL) 99

D5. GENDER: RECORD.

Male 1

Female 2

Thank you for your time. Just in case my supervisor needs to verify that I conducted this interview, would you please tell me your first name?

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Thank you again. Goodbye.

DATE OF INTERVIEW __ __ / __ __ / 07

KRC Research 7

Illinois State Pilot Survey

November 2007