HARRISBURG, Pa. Judging by phone calls and emails to the United Motorcoach Association, Pennsylvania has stepped up efforts to collect corporate income or franchise taxes from motorcoach operators.

The state is targeting out-of-state operators whose sightseeing, tour or charter coaches are traveling into Pennsylvania and making stops. has stepped up efforts to collect corporate income or franchise taxes from motorcoach operators.

When the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue finds an operator it suspects may be making enough trips into the state to create a tax nexus, it sends a letter saying it has information indicating the company is operating in the state without properly registering to pay taxes. has stepped up efforts to collect corporate income or franchise taxes from motorcoach operators.

Along with the letter comes a five-page Business Activities Questionnaire and a four-page tax bulletin. has stepped up efforts to collect corporate income or franchise taxes from motorcoach operators.

Its believed the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue is picking up operator names from International Fuel Tax Agreement and International Registration Plan filings. But, its also possible the state has "tax discovery specialists" checking popular motorcoach destinations. has stepped up efforts to collect corporate income or franchise taxes from motorcoach operators.

Basically, a non-Pennsylvania-based coach company has a tax nexus with the state if the operator travels more than 50,000 loaded miles in Pennsylvania and makes at least one trip where passengers are picked up or dropped off, or the operator has a Pennsylvania IFTA-apportionment fraction of more than 5 percent and has more than 12 trips with pickups or dropoffs in Pennsylvania. has stepped up efforts to collect corporate income or franchise taxes from motorcoach operators.

One operator that recently got caught in the Pennsylvania dragnet barely avoided the state taxing nexus. The operator exceeded the 12-trip maximum, but his IFTA miles in Pennsylvania last year were under 4 percent. has stepped up efforts to collect corporate income or franchise taxes from motorcoach operators.

"For what its worth, this would be a good incentive to not add any new Pennsylvania group tours to my catalogue," said the operator. has stepped up efforts to collect corporate income or franchise taxes from motorcoach operators.

"And, in the long run, what Pennsylvania might gain in tax revenue, it will more than lose out in hotel, restaurant and sightseeing revenue and the associated sales and hotel taxes." has stepped up efforts to collect corporate income or franchise taxes from motorcoach operators.

The operators response has happened before in other states that have targeted the industry in similar fashion. Operators stop going and find other destinations. This could particularly hurt Pennsylvania which is trying to grow its relatively young gaming industry by attracting gamblers from surrounding states. has stepped up efforts to collect corporate income or franchise taxes from motorcoach operators.

Pennsylvania has published a tax bulletin specifically designed to help bus and truck operators determine if their activities meet Pennsylvanias "de minimis activities for purposes of filing tax reports under the corporate net income tax and foreign franchise tax." has stepped up efforts to collect corporate income or franchise taxes from motorcoach operators.

The bulletin includes a Q&A section that covers a variety of specific issues and questions related to determining a taxing nexus with Pennsylvania. has stepped up efforts to collect corporate income or franchise taxes from motorcoach operators.

To find the bulletin, go to the home page of the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue (www.revenue.state.pa.us/). Type in CT Bulletin 2004-01 in the search box in the lower left corner of the home page. The box is labeled "--- search Revenue."