Blog

with Emily Nash-Walker, Senior Director, Product Strategy, Tungsten In our last post, we established why Compliant AP matters: compliance risk now lives in AP, not just in tax departments. Today, let’s talk about the technical requirement that makes Compliant AP work: mirror visibility.  Defining Mirror Visibility in Accounts Payable Mirror visibility means your AP system can see exactly what tax authorities see, reconcile it automatically […]

The answer appears simple – subscription AI chatbot services either fall within a state’s existing sales tax structure for Software as a Service (SaaS), or they don’t. However, as with digital goods and streaming services in the past, attempts by a few states to fit new technologies into an existing legal framework can be as awkward as an ocean liner taking on a slalom course. How are SaaS transactions currently taxed?  The basic concept of a SaaS transaction is that the purchaser is accessing a software application via the internet. Within this, there is a junk drawer full of variables that may determine the fate of SaaS’s taxability in a state. These can […]

Montana is one of the few states in the U.S. that do not impose a general statewide sales and use tax. However, that doesn’t mean businesses are completely exempt from Montana sales tax regulations. While Montana is often considered a “no sales tax” state, it does apply a 4% tax on accommodations, campgrounds and rental […]

Sales tax in Missouri includes a statewide base rate of 4.225%, with additional local taxes imposed by cities, counties and districts. Because of these layered rates, the Missouri sales tax rate can vary significantly depending on the location of the transaction. Businesses must also consider Missouri use tax, which applies when taxable goods are purchased […]

The story of direct-to-consumer beer shipping in 2026 reveals a familiar but contradictory reality: consumer demand and spending intent remain strong, yet regulatory progress continues to lag behind.  Key Takeaways from the 2026 DtC Beer Report  The 2026 Direct-to-Consumer Beer Shipping Report highlights a widening gap between what consumers want and what current regulations allow. For breweries, retailers, and policymakers alike, this gap represents both a major […]

By Andrew Adams, Editor, WineBusiness Analytics The pandemic surge in DtC wine shipments temporarily obscured a structural change that is now hard to ignore. The story is told in a chart from this year’s annual report on winery direct-to-consumer (DtC) shipments depicting the change in value and volume of shipments of wines priced more than $100 and less than $40.   These two price tiers at opposite ends […]

with Emily Nash-Walker, Senior Director, Product Strategy, Tungsten For a long time, we treated Accounts Payable as an efficiency problem. Faster invoice processing. Lower cost per transaction. Fewer people involved in the process touching paper that didn’t need to be touched. That thinking is outdated. Today, you simply can’t talk about AP without talking about […]

Key Highlights: 2025 saw major changes to DtC alcohol shipping laws, especially for wine Mississippi and Delaware opened new markets but with restrictive provisions Several states are expected to revisit flawed or incomplete legislation in 2026 Spirits and beer DtC shipping laws continue to expand Consumer demand remains strong, putting pressure on states to remove […]

Should states eliminate their corporate and personal income taxes and replace them with a broad-based sales tax applied at a modest rate? The White House Council of Economic Advisers says absolutely yes. In a recently published paper, the Council makes the case that sales tax is a far more stable source of revenue and that states embarking on this transformation would grow their GDP, encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, increase wages, and attract high […]

Key highlights: Napa DtC wine shipping eked out an overperformance of the DtC wine shipping channel, which saw nearly universal declines Average bottle price (ABP) climbed to nearly $100, driven by resilient premium buyers Napa was the only region to grow shipment value year-over-year Chardonnay emerged as a standout growth opportunity in the county Tasting […]

Illinois imposes a statewide sales and use tax rate of 6.25%. The state does allow local jurisdictions to levy additional sales taxes; cities, counties, and special districts in Illinois can impose their own sales tax in addition to the state tax rate. The following are examples of special local taxes in Illinois, in addition to […]

The Treasury and IRS have begun implementing a new car loan interest deduction that allows many individual taxpayers to deduct interest paid on qualifying vehicle loans. While the policy has drawn headlines, the real work sits with auto finance lenders and financial services companies that must operationalize the rules, support borrowers, and meet new information […]

Why Financial Institutions Overpay Sales & Use Tax and How to Stop It $750,000. That’s how much one mid-size U.S. bank recovered in a single quarter—money they’d been overpaying in use tax for years without realizing it. This wasn’t a struggling institution with a skeleton crew managing compliance. They had competent tax professionals. Established processes. […]

Arkansas imposes a statewide sales and use tax rate of 6.5%, as established under the Arkansas tax code. While Arkansas does not allow local jurisdictions to levy their own independent sales tax structures, cities and counties may impose additional local sales taxes that apply on top of the Arkansas state tax rate. As a result, […]

Kansas imposes a statewide sales and use tax rate of 6.5%. The state does allow local jurisdictions to levy additional sales taxes, which means businesses should verify local rates when calculating sales tax in Kansas. What’s Taxable in Kansas? Kansas sales tax rules apply to the sale of tangible personal property and certain enumerated services. […]

Hawaii imposes a statewide General Excise Tax (GET) rate of 4%. The state does impose local taxes at the County level. Counties are authorized to adopt a surcharge on the 4% GE tax rate. Businesses may pass on the GE tax and any applicable county surcharge to customers at the maximum pass-on rate. All counties […]

Arizona imposes a transaction privilege tax (TPT) on businesses in the state and is akin to sales tax administration. As such, it will often be referred to as “sales tax”. Arizona imposes a statewide TPT rate of 5.6%. The state does allow local jurisdictions to levy additional taxes. What’s Taxable in Arizona? Arizona TPT applies […]

The State of Alaska sales tax system is unique compared to other U.S. states. Alaska does not impose a statewide sales and use tax, making it one of the few states without a general retail sales tax. Instead, sales tax in Alaska is administered at the local level, where cities and boroughs are permitted to […]