The Accelerated Sales Tax (AST) Workgroup was established by Item 274(D) of House Bill 1500 (2017 Acts of Assembly, Chapter 836), the 2017 Appropriation Act. See Appendix A. The workgroup was asked to consider alternatives and limitations to the current accelerated sales tax mandate and examine other sales tax-related issues as it deemed appropriate.

The workgroup met on October 12, 2017. The Department of Taxation (“the Department") presented information about the current AST structure as well as past AST programs in Virginia and the approaches that other states have taken with accelerated sales tax schedules. See Appendix B. Following the presentation, there was a period of discussion among the group about AST related topics. See Appendices C and D for minutes from the workgroup meeting and the list of attendees.