A company whose technology has been used by political campaigns, advocacy organizations, and nonprofit groups across the country has agreed to pay $1 million to the District of Columbia to resolve allegations that it failed to collect and remit sales taxes on its services for roughly a decade.
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb announced that Toskr, Inc., which does business as GetThru, reached a settlement with the Office of the Attorney General after an investigation into the company’s tax practices. The case was brought under the District’s False Claims Act following a whistleblower complaint that prompted an independent investigation by the Attorney General’s office.
Under the agreement filed in D.C. Superior Court, GetThru will pay $1 million to the District and must begin collecting and remitting D.C. sales taxes on taxable services sold to customers in the nation’s capital. According to court records, the company cooperated with the investigation.
“Companies that do business in the District by making sales to our residents, visitors, businesses, and nonprofits have a legal obligation to collect and pay sales taxes — revenues which fund essential public services,” Schwalb said.
GetThru provides peer-to-peer text messaging and calling technology used by political campaigns, advocacy organizations, labor groups, and nonprofits to communicate with supporters, voters, and donors. According to the Attorney General’s office, the company sold services that qualify as taxable data processing services under District law.
The District’s Office of Tax and Revenue identifies data processing among the services subject to D.C. sales tax. Businesses providing taxable services to customers located in the District are required to collect the tax and remit it to the government. Failure to do so can expose companies to tax liabilities, penalties, and enforcement actions.
According to allegations outlined in the consent order, GetThru failed to collect and pay required D.C. sales taxes on millions of dollars in sales to District-based customers from 2016 through May 2026. The Attorney General’s office intervened after reviewing allegations originally filed by a whistleblower under the District’s False Claims Act.
The settlement does not contain an admission of liability by GetThru. The agreement resolves the District’s claims and requires the company to comply with D.C. tax laws moving forward.
The case also places a spotlight on the District’s use of whistleblower-driven enforcement actions to recover unpaid taxes. Amendments enacted in 2020 expanded the District’s False Claims Act, allowing private individuals to bring lawsuits on behalf of the District against companies or individuals accused of underpaying or evading taxes. If the government intervenes and recovers money, whistleblowers may receive a share of the proceeds.
Under D.C.’s False Claims Act, parties found to have knowingly concealed, avoided, or decreased obligations owed to the District can face damages of up to three times the amount owed, in addition to civil penalties. The law has become an increasingly important tool for pursuing tax enforcement cases involving businesses operating in the District.
“We won’t allow businesses to freeload, or gain an unfair advantage over their law-abiding competitors, by avoiding taxes,” Schwalb stated.
