D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb says GetThru, the political texting company that operates as Toskr, Inc., will shell out $1 million to resolve a whistleblower complaint accusing it of skipping District sales tax on data-processing services. Under the deal, GetThru must start collecting and remitting sales tax on future transactions sold to Washington-based clients, sending money back to the District and forcing a change in how the company bills local customers.
Settlement Details From The Attorney General
According to WJLA, the $1,000,000 settlement caps a whistleblower complaint that stretched roughly a decade and alleged that Toskr/GetThru failed to collect D.C. sales tax on data-processing services. The D.C. Office of the Attorney General found the company avoided paying required taxes on millions of dollars in local sales over about ten years and that GetThru operated from 2016 through May 2026. Under the agreement, the company will pay the District and is legally required to collect sales taxes on future data-processing transactions sold to Washington-based clients.
What GetThru Does
GetThru, doing business as Toskr, Inc., sells peer-to-peer texting and calling tools to political campaigns, advocacy groups, and nonprofits. The company’s website notes that its ThruText and ThruTalk platforms have processed billions of messages and were built by campaign veterans to scale outreach efforts, which helps explain its popularity with political organizations. The settlement zeroes in on how those services are treated for tax purposes when they are sold to clients with a District billing address.
Why D.C. Considers Data Processing Taxable
District tax rules treat data-processing services as taxable receipts for sales and use tax purposes, according to guidance from the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue. That category includes computerized data storage, information retrieval, payroll processing, and system programming. The OTR guidance spells out which services are taxable and which are not and instructs vendors that taxable data-processing receipts are subject to tax and reporting obligations. That framework is the legal footing the OAG used in bringing the civil complaint that this settlement resolves.
How GetThru Served Campaigns
Public campaign finance records show payments to “TOSKR INC DBA GETTHRU,” confirming that the company provided mass-texting and get-out-the-vote services to political committees and candidates. For instance, a Washington-state public disclosure filing lists Toskr, Inc. as a vendor and itemizes charges for mass-texting services, according to a public record from the PDC. Those vendor relationships highlight why the OAG focused on services sold to Washington-based clients instead of treating them as some kind of blanket campaign exemption.
Where This Fits In Schwalb’s Enforcement Push
Schwalb’s office has been leaning into both consumer-protection and tax enforcement against big national players and local outfits alike. Earlier this spring, the attorney general secured a nearly $9.9 million settlement with Live Nation over alleged deceptive ticketing fees, as reported by The Washington Post. The GetThru deal is smaller on paper but signals that digital services sold to District customers are very much on the enforcement radar.
Legal Implications
The settlement resolves the whistleblower complaint on the civil side rather than through a criminal case and imposes both a cash payment and compliance requirements on Toskr/GetThru, WJLA reports. Going forward, GetThru must collect sales tax on taxable data-processing services sold to District clients and remit those funds to the D.C. Treasury. That requirement could nudge other vendors offering similar digital services to revisit how they bill, collect tax, and register under District law.
What Clients Should Expect
Campaigns, nonprofits, and other organizations using peer-to-peer texting platforms should expect to see D.C. sales tax on future GetThru invoices tied to Washington-based work and may want to adjust outreach budgets accordingly. The D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue says vendors performing taxable services in the District must register and remit sales and use tax through MyTax.DC.gov and offers guidance on which services qualify as taxable. Clients who want details about past invoices or the settlement terms are directed to reach out to the OAG or OTR for specifics.
