Blog

Sovos Celebrates a Successful Black Friday – Cyber Monday Weekend

When the demands of retailers were highest, this Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend Sovos delivered fast, accurate sales tax calculations so clients could reach their revenue goals. The last weekend of November can be a trying time for retailers. Every year there seems to be a bigger push for more extreme and extended sales […]

Read More
Sovos Attendees’ Insights from Oracle’s OpenWorld

At the end of October, members of the Sovos Compliance Sales and Marketing teams attended Oracle OpenWorld in San Francisco, California. The conference, that consumed the Moscone Center both inside and out, was spread out over four days and included a wide variety of educational sessions, numerous high profile keynote speakers, and two exhibit halls […]

Read More
Five Common Sales Tax Misconceptions That Can Cost Your Business

Collecting sales tax is not the focus of most companies. Even for businesses, people who learn the financial side of running a business, sales taxes can seem to be more of a nuisance than anything else. However, remember the old adage what you don’t know can hurt you. These are five sales tax gottchas that […]

Read More
Taxify | Sovos Compliance Rolls Out Sales Tax Automation for Online Retailers

Hello, world! We are a little slow to announce it (we wanted to get the timing juuust right), but we’re here today to let you all know that we are coming out on the sales tax automation stage! Taxify is the first software solution to provide industry-best tax calculation and automated filing for small to […]

Read More
Alabama’s Voluntary Compliance: Economic Nexus in the Sales Tax World

Alabama Responds to Justice Kennedy’s Concurrence in Brohl: Voluntary Compliance Leading the Way to Economic Nexus in the Sales Tax World Alabama has enacted new rules to define when out-of-state sellers are required to charge sales tax and when they have the option to voluntarily opt to charge use tax on out-of-state sales. Both of […]

Read More
Evolution of Puerto Rico’s Municipal Sales and Use Taxes

The Puerto Rican indirect tax system has gone through a remarkable number of changes during the last 10 years. Back in 2004, the expansion of the fiscal deficit of the Commonwealth and the cities of Puerto Rico started to become unbearable for the government and a serious source of concern for the international bond market. […]

Read More
There is Nothing Simple About Sales Tax Holiday Compliance

End-of-summer sales tax holidays may be fun, helpful and welcome to consumers, but they are no picnic for the tax departments of retailers. For different periods in July and August of this year, consumers in 19 states saved money by not having to pay sales tax on certain items. It is also not a coincidence […]

Read More
The Heat Is On (or is it?) During the Georgia 2015 Energy Star and Water Sense Sales Tax Holiday

For those of you responsible for sales tax compliance in the retail industry, the month of August can be somewhat challenging. As detailed in previous blogs and in our Sales Tax Holiday infographic, the complexity associated with making sure your stores process transactions correctly during all applicable sales tax holidays requires retailers to expend significant […]

Read More
Louisiana Local Tax: Understanding Where It Differs From the State Tax

Louisiana has a sales tax at both the state and the parish (county) level. The state rate is 4%, while the parish rates vary. In most states, the locals mirror the exemptions provided by the state, which makes compliance a bit easier. Louisiana is not one of these states. The parishes in Louisiana follow the […]

Read More
The Difficulties of Exemption Certificate Management

Managing your company’s exemption certificates can be a difficult process that many organizations find difficult to stay on top of. Exemption certificate management, or ECM, can be a large burden for companies who do not have an integrated solution, as employees frequently find themselves struggling to acquire, organize and manage these types of certificates. Exemption […]

Read More
Sales Tax Holidays: A Race to the Register

If you live in a state with a Sales Tax Holiday, you know how exciting it can be. Stores beef up inventory of the affected items, shoppers get their mega-shopping lists ready, and it’s a race to the register. All this is in an effort to save an average of a few dollars per transaction. […]

Read More
A Brief Review of Sales and Use Taxability Changes Effective July 1, 2015

The Tax Department at Sovos Compliance is committed to providing our clients with timely and accurate taxability rates and rules. Simply put, for us its considered job #1. Historically, any number of jurisdictions will make legislative and regulatory changes in the area of sales tax effective on July 1, and sometimes political realities result in […]

Read More
Top 10 Sales Tax Oddities for Retailers

Did you know these retail facts? They could be affecting your business! The retail industry is a major source of revenue for taxing authorities and companies operating in this space must be particularly careful when it comes to small details. There are certain everyday occurrences that may not be at the forefront of a retailer’s […]

Read More
Important Sales & Use Tax (IVU) Notice For Bonded Importers In Puerto Rico

IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR BONDED IMPORTERS IN PUERTO RICO Puerto Rico recently enacted Law 72-2015 which (among other things) increased the state level Sales and Use Tax (IVU) from 6% to 10.5% effective July 1, 2015. The municipal level rate of 1% remains the same, which makes the total IVU rate 11.5% as of July 1. […]

Read More
Tax compliance is a burden for small businesses

As tax season becomes more of a discussion than an upcoming event, small businesses exhale a sigh of relief. The complex nature of small business tax compliance has created much frustration and even extensions on their yearly filings. According to the National Small Business Association 2015 Small Business Taxation Survey, which included participation from more […]

Read More
Virginia Consolidates Sales Tax Holidays

Virginia holds three sales tax holidays annually. Until this year, the Hurricane Preparedness Holiday took place in May, the School Supplies and Clothing holiday took place in August and the Energy Star and WaterSense holiday took place in October. There has been a lot of debate surrounding sales tax holidays across the country over the […]

Read More
Sales Tax Issues before the Supreme Court

District Court Injunction against Colorado Allowed to Stand On March 3, 2015 the United States Supreme Court announced its decision in Direct Marketing Association v. Brohl (575 U.S. (2015).  In this case, a trade association for retailers challenged legislation enacted by the state of Colorado in 2010 that required sellers that do not have a […]

Read More
Banks facing increased scrutiny under crackdown on cross-border tax evasion

In recent years, banks across the globe have been placed under a microscope as authorities seek to curb cross-border tax evasion. Many organizations have faced penalties, fines and reputational damage as a result of this crackdown. In the latest case, one multinational bank’s operations in Switzerland helped numerous wealthy individuals evade taxes. This revelation came as […]

Read More