THE STORY

I Kept Getting Told I Should Come to the Other Side.

For years, I heard some version of the same thing from business owners, CPAs and controllers:

“You don’t act like an auditor.”

“You should come to the other side”

Eventually, I realized they were right.

My name is Star Williams and my career in sales tax began after graduating from California State University, Fullerton with a degree in accounting. I went directly into working for the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, formerly Board of Equalization, where I spent a decade working as a sales tax auditor.

During those years, I reviewed business records, conducted audits, evaluated taxability and exemptions, analyzed reporting, and worked directly with businesses and their representatives. That experience taught me something I never forget:

Running a successful business and understanding sales tax law are two completely different things.

I met hardworking business owners who were doing their best to run their companies while navigating rules that were often complicated, technical, and difficult to interpret. Many were not intentionally doing anything wrong. They simply didn’t know what they didn’t know. And that where I saw opportunity.

There is one moment from my auditing career that has always stayed with me. I was working on a field audit and had stepped out for lunch. When I returned, I walked through the front office in my usual way, smiling, friendly, probably joking about something. As I passed the front desk, I could hear the receptionist quietly talking to a coworker. I smiled and asked: “Are you talking about me?” She laughed and admitted they were. She had been telling her coworker: “We have a new auditor, and she doe not act like an auditor at all.” I took it as a compliment. I still do. Because being an auditor never meant I had to stop being a person. And that experience shaped the kind of advisor I want to be. Sales tax issues can be serious without every conversation needing to feel intimidating.

After a decade on the audit side, I saw the same problems repeatedly.

Businesses struggled with:

• Nexus and registration questions

• Taxability

• Exemptions and resale documentation

• Use tax

• Reporting and reconciliation

• Recordkeeping

• Contract structure and taxability

• Prior period exposure

• Existing audits and assessments

I also saw how difficult it can be for a business owners to know where to turn. Their CPA may be excellent accounting and income tax. Their bookkeeper may be excellent at keeping the books, Their attorney may be excellent at legal matters. But sales tax is its own specialized area. That is where I come in.

STAR was created to provide businesses with specialized sales tax expertise backed by a decade of firsthand experience working on the audit side. My goal is not to make sales tax more complicated. It is the opposite.

My goal is simple. Understand you situation, explain what matters, identify the risks, give you clear options and help you determine what to do next.

I met hardworking business owners who were doing their best to run their companies while navigating rules that were often complicated, technical, and difficult to interpret. Many were not intentionally doing anything wrong. They simply didn’t know what they didn’t know. And that where I saw opportunity.