Blog

Breaking News: Puerto Rico Treasury Moves to Suspend VAT Implementation

VAT Now Scheduled to Take Effect on June 1, 2016 Puerto Rico’s Treasury Department issued Administrative Determination DA16-04 on March 8, 2016, officially postponing the effective date of the VAT (IVA in Spanish) from April 1, 2016, until June 1st, 2016 and may suspend VAT implementation altogether. According to the Treasury Department, the delay was effectuated, […]

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ShipCompliant Featured in the Washington Post

Recently, the Sovos company, ShipCompliant had their annual report highlighted in the Washington Post. As the article points out, “The very existence of a firm such as ShipCompliant highlights the difficulties of direct shipping. Forty-three states allow it in some form or other, up from 17 in 1998, but state laws and regulations differ, creating […]

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Two New U.S. Mandates Evoke Themes of Latin American Compliance

Latin America has long been at the forefront of business-to-government compliance requirements, and nations across the globe have taken note of how countries in this region have successfully cracked down on tax fraud. Now, the U.S. has introduced two new requirements – public sector e-invoicing and country-by-country reporting – with themes parallel to Latin America […]

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Mexico Announces Electronic Audits in 2016

The culmination of Mexico’s e-invoicing and e-accounting mandates begins as of September 2016 in the form of electronic audits. Now that the government has standardized invoicing and reporting formats, electronic audits are a natural transition designed to further increase Mexico’s tax revenues.  Simply by closing the leaks in its tax collection processes with greater visibility […]

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Breaking Down the Economics of Affordable Care Act Reporting

Have you ever thought about just how much it will cost your organization to comply with mandatory ACA reporting? What will Affordable Care Act reporting cost you in terms of time and impact? Let’s take a minute and break down the economics. The IRS estimates that it will take 12 minutes to fill out each […]

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North Carolina Set to Tax Retail Repair, Maintenance, and Installation

On September 18, 2015 and September 30, 2015, House Bill 97 and House Bill 117, respectively, were signed into law by North Carolina Governor, Pat McCrory. Together, these bills expand the sales tax base in North Carolina. This new expansion of the sales tax base will impact retailers who provide repair, maintenance, and installation services. […]

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News on the New VAT in Puerto Rico

The following is intended as a brief update on some late breaking news on the implementation of a Value Added Tax in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico effective April 1, 2016 New VAT Regs The highly anticipated “proposed VAT regulations” were published on the Hacienda website recently.  Sovos is deep into the process of reading […]

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SAP Implementation Challenges in Latin America

Global companies with operations in Latin America are often faced with a paradox. They’ve invested heavily in a global instance of SAP, and yet that investment doesn’t cover the unique financial compliance initiatives required by governments throughout Latin America. To combat this issue, some companies expend even more by managing compliance internally – requiring up […]

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Get Prepared! Feb 26-28: Alabama Severe Weather Sales Tax Holiday

Alabama will be holding its fifth annual Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday at the end of this month, offering tax exemptions on qualifying items purchased between 12:01am (CST) on Friday, February 26, 2016 and midnight on Sunday February 28, 2016. During this time, purchases of items such as batteries, radios, flashlights, ropes, duct tape, […]

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Colombia’s E-Invoicing Mandate: 8 Key Dates

Colombia is the eighth country in Latin America to mandate electronic invoicing. This latest requirement from Colombia comes as no surprise as Colombia has been planning to standardize electronic invoicing for the past decade, starting with decree 1929 in 2007. The old model had a few flaws and in 2013 the DIAN (tax authority) proposed […]

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Free Webinar: Retail Sales and Use Tax Compliance

Are sales and use taxes making life difficult for your retail business? Do you know the full scope of your company’s sales and use tax obligations? There are a number of unique tax laws that retailers must know, stay up-to-date on, and abide by. Join Erik Wallin, Senior Tax Counsel at Sovos Compliance, to learn […]

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Sovos Hosts Successful Exclusive VAT Technology Event in Amsterdam

Last week we had the pleasure of hosting our first exclusive VAT technology event. The topic for the event was the rise of e-audits in relation to VAT and how to tackle the challenges with technology. The increasing complexity of the VAT environment, and the constant technological development on the tax administration side to overcome […]

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Weekly FATCA Updates: February 13 – February 19, 2016

Countries around the globe are making FATCA updates to regulations every day. Check out the most recent updates from the past week, compiled by our team of tax and compliance experts. Lichtenstein Updates FATCA Reporting Transmission Guide for Tax Year 2015 Lichtenstein has updated their FATCA Reporting Transmission Guide for Tax Year 2015, which contains […]

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Colombia Mandates Electronic Invoicing for 2016

The much anticipated news from Colombia has arrived. On November 24, 2015, the Colombia DIAN (tax authority) announced in Decree 2242 that electronic invoicing will be mandated for specified companies starting January 2016. Similar to mandates already in place in Mexico and Chile, for example, this is a way for Colombia to combat tax evasion […]

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Is Value Added Tax a Very Complicated Sales Tax?

Sometimes it’s good to go back to basics. Want to learn more about value added tax (VAT)? You are not alone. Since most of Europe and around the world uses a VAT system, here is a good overview about how it works and how it is similar, but different, to sales tax in the United […]

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Eight Significant Changes to Brazilian Business-to-Government Compliance Measures

We recently examined the 10 new financial compliance regulations expected to hit companies operating in Latin America this year. None present more challenges than those going into effect in Brazil. Couple this wave of changes and expansions with Brazil’s current complex mandates, and companies are in for a turbulent ride, risking significant fines, penalties and […]

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Maine Taxpayers Must Stomach New Snack Food Taxes

New Year’s Day 2016 brought numerous indirect tax changes to the state of Maine. These changes were varied and intended to complement reductions in the state’s income tax. One of the biggest changes that became effective January 1, 2016 relates to the sale of food and now there are new snack food taxes. In the […]

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Skip Extended Deadlines: Meet Your ACA Filing Obligations Now

The Benefits to Adhering to the Original ACA Reporting Timeline for Tax Year 2015 Although the IRS has extended the deadlines for the first year of mandatory ACA filing, it is still possible to fulfill your obligations early—and doing so will greatly benefit your employees and organization in the process. Help Your 1040 Filers You […]

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