Hall County is one step closer to filling in the gaps where many believe thousands in sales tax dollars are slipping through.

The Hall County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution Thursday to voluntarily participate in a Georgia Department of Revenue initiative meant to increase the number of businesses complying with sales tax regulations.

Hall County Business License Director Susan Rector said many businesses do not realize that they should be collecting sales taxes.

"A lot of businesses say they don't sell a product when in fact they do," Rector said.

"Say you hire someone to fix your washer or dryer and a part has gone out. They have to bring in a new part and that is a product."

Now, Hall County will provide the Department of Revenue with basic information about each business that holds a license in the county, such as the name of the business, the type of business and address of the business.

The state will use the information to classify the business and establish guidelines for collecting sales taxes.

"It's not that businesses are being fraudulent ... they just don't know," Rector said. "This is a way of educating them to do the right thing."

Rector said while the program is voluntary, it will likely help Hall County in the long run.

"It should be very beneficial," she said.

"Hopefully that is going to help Hall County get tax dollars we aren't getting."

In the future, the Department of Revenue will also provide information to Hall County from its database.

"Once the exchange of information goes both ways, it's going to be a win-win situation for everyone," Rector said.

Hall County is one of four counties in the state selected last year for a Department of Revenue pilot program that compares state and local databases.

Cross checks revealed hundreds of Hall County businesses that were not on the Department of Revenue's sales tax list and businesses that were reporting sales taxes to the state but did not hold a business license in Hall County.

Hall County has told state representatives that it is imperative for local governments to have access to the Department of Revenue's database to ensure they are getting their fair share of sales taxes.