About the Group
RISTAP is an unincorporated association of tax professionals whose members are employees of restaurant operating, hospitality, and foodservice companies. RISTAP members have sales and use tax responsibilities for their companies, and may have other tax, licensing, unclaimed property or accounting responsibilities. The group currently has over 250 members from 120+ companies.
Membership Eligibility
To become a member of RISTAP your company must 1) sell prepared food and beverages or be a food supplier to the food and beverage industry AND 2) the individual member must either be in or support the sales and use tax audit function or have responsibilities for sales and use taxability determinations. Software, equipment, and consulting firms are generally not eligible for membership. Please use the Contact Us form if you have any questions about membership eligibility.
Purpose / Mission
RISTAP’s purpose is to promote networking by restaurant industry sales tax audit professionals and to facilitate the sharing of information and ideas related to sales and use tax issues for the benefit of the members and their companies.
Membership Fee
There is no membership fee. The annual roundtable meeting has a registration fee that varies depending on the expenses of each meeting location.
Annual Roundtable Meeting
The annual meeting is held in April or May in different cities. Attendance currently is at around 100 members. The agenda is organized around tax and audit topics affecting sales and use taxes at restaurant, food service, hotel and related companies. The meeting is an open forum for interactive discussion of issues that matter to members. In some years, the annual meeting has included optional sessions to discuss in more detail specific topics such as audit sampling, Canada taxes or sales tax department best practices. For more information regarding the annual meeting, contact the Vice-Chair annual meeting.
Website / Member Information Sharing
Members may post questions or information on the RISTAP website in the Member Forum section. You can follow a specific post or reply to posts from other Members. RISTAP encourages members to network with each other to discuss tax matters either through the website or directly. To request membership and obtain access to the member's only section of the website select "Join Us" from the menu above or contact the Vice Chair Communications/ Membership.
List of Special Restaurant Related Taxes
RISTAP maintains a list of special taxes that affect the restaurant industry (tax rates other than the standard sales/use taxes). Members send updates for the list to the Special Tax Listing Facilitator. The list is posted to the website monthly.
Disclaimer and Terms of Membership
CONTENT ON THIS WEBSITE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE TAX ADVISE AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE CONSTRUED AS SUCH. ANY MATERIAL ON THIS WEBSITE, WHETHER PUBLISHED BY RISTAP, ITS ADMINISTRATORS, OR MEMBERS MAY NOT AND CANNOT BE USED BY ANY MEMBER OR MEMBER COMPANY OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FOR THE PURPOSE OF (i) AVOIDING PENALTIES THAT MAY BE IMPOSED ON ANY TAXPAYER OR (ii) PROMOTING, MARKETING OR RECOMMENDING TO ANOTHER PARTY ANY MATTERS ADDRESSED HEREIN.
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The information contained within this site is general in nature and based on authorities and legislation that may be subject to change OR is the opinion of the individual posting same. RISTAP does not guarantee the accuracy of posts written by its members. Applicability to specific situations is to be determined through consultation with your tax adviser.
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Membership Terms: By completing the Membership Application,. you agree that you are eligible for membership as outlined above and in your application. You also agree that any information shared on this website or at any RISTAP sponsored event will be treated as confidential. You will also keep RISTAP's Membership list and contact information confidential. The RISTAP Board has final say over membership and may revoke memberships for violations of these terms and RISTAPs operating and meeting conduct. rules.