Nonsub Justification (5-year sales tax question)

Non-substantive Change Request

Service Annual Survey

OMB Number 0607-0422

The Census Bureau is requesting a non-substantive change to the Service Annual Survey (SAS) to add a sales tax question for the survey year 2022 collection. The content, seen below, will generally appear as question 7 for respondents in all industries covered by the SAS, affecting all companies included in the survey sample. The sales tax data is necessary to meet stakeholder needs, particularly the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), which uses these data to adjust sales tax rates in their benchmarking processes.

Previously, the SAS has collected sales tax data every five years, in the year before the Economic Census. Adding this item for the 2022 survey year deviates from that schedule to coincide with the same year as the Economic Census. This change further synchronizes SAS content with the Annual Wholesale Trade Survey (AWTS), which collects this item in the same survey year as the Economic Census, and the Annual Retail Trade Survey (ARTS), which collects this item annually. Aligning these schedules provides consistency for respondents included in both surveys.

The current estimate of burden already accounts for the inclusion of this one item every five years. Additionally, this item requires only a simple yes or no response and one summary figure which should be readily available. We also allow for estimates if exact figures are not available.

We request approval for this change by 8/1/2022 to prepare for survey year 2022 collection activities.