Regulatory Analysis

Posted July 3, 2017 by Sovos
Louisiana qualifies agricultural exemptions: feed, seed, and fertilizer

Senate Bill 97 (Act No. 378) qualifies the Louisiana sales and use tax exemptions for certain agricultural items.  Effective January 1, 2018, sales of seeds used for planting crops, pesticides used for agricultural purposes, liquefied petroleum gases used for farm purposes, and commercial farm irrigation equipment will only be exempt when made to commercial farmers. […]

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Posted July 3, 2017 by Sovos
Louisiana exempts coins and precious metals.

Under House Bill 396 (Act No. 340) Louisiana will permit full exemptions from sales and use taxes for platinum, gold, or silver bullion, valued on its precious metal content; numismatic coins with a sales price of no more than one thousand dollars; and numismatic coins sold at a national, statewide, or multi-parish numismatic trade show. […]

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Posted July 3, 2017 by Charles Maniace
Colorado Finalizes Emergency Rule on Reporting for Non Collecting Retailers

As previously reported in this forum, on July 1, 2017, Colorado’s long anticipated notice and reporting requirements for non-collecting retailers goes into effect. In the last few days, Colorado moved to finalize the details as to how the rule will be enforced, which are described in Emergency Rule 39.21-112.35. This law requires retailers that do […]

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Posted July 3, 2017 by Charles Maniace
Pending Puerto Rico Legislation Could Mean Significant and Immediate Changes for Taxpayers

Although details are currently scant, Puerto Rico’s 2017-2018 budget legislation, if passed, could make two changes that will require taxpayers to make immediate adjustments to their current sales tax processes:  The budget appears to require taxpayers who generally make payments in excess of $2000 monthly, to make two payments per month instead of one. The […]

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Posted July 1, 2017 by Paul Ogawa
Delaware Advances Filing Due Date for 1099-MISC

Filing extended for 1099-MISC Forms reporting non-employee compensation now in line with federal calendar.  Delaware recently amended legislation pertaining to information returns, and part of this legislation advances the filing due date for 1099-MISC forms reporting non-employee compensation in Box 7. This brings the filing deadlines in line with the federal calendar. 1099-MISC forms […]

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Posted June 30, 2017 by Tom Hospod
IRS Releases Drafts of Form W-8IMY and Instructions

The IRS has published draft versions of its revised Form W-8IMY, Certificate of Foreign Intermediary, Foreign Flow-Through Entity, or Certain U.S. Branches for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting, and instructions for filers of this form. There are a number of significant updates to this form of which filers should be aware: Qualified […]

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Posted June 30, 2017 by Tom Hospod
IRS Reminds Financial Institutions to Renew FFI Agreements

The IRS released an updated FFI Agreement for Financial Institutions with FATCA obligations on December 30, 2016. Those FFIs whose agreements expired at the end of last year, and that wish to retain their GIINs, are required to renew their FFI Agreements. They can do so through the FATCA FFI Registration System. The FFIs will be […]

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Posted June 29, 2017 by Erik Wallin
Massachusetts Revokes Nexus Directive 17-1 Before it Takes Effect

Just two days before it was slated to take effect, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue revoked the highly controversial Directive 17-1 that sought to extend sales tax collection and remittance responsibilities on internet vendors that licensed software to Massachusetts customers, used cookies or contracted with marketplace providers located in the state. While Directive 17.2 revoking the earlier guidance is […]

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Posted June 29, 2017 by Jesse Rooney
Virginia Releases Updated Electronic Payment Guide

Virginia has lately released an updated copy of its Electronic Payment Guide.  This guide details the instructions necessary to complete an ACH payment to the Department of Taxation.  No material changes were made to instructions for filing or paying taxes related to withholding or information returns.  Some changes were made to the instructions for […]

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Posted June 29, 2017 by Paul Ogawa
South Carolina Releases Updated Withholding Tax Coupon

South Carolina recently released an updated Form WH-1601, Withholding Tax Coupon. This form/coupon is used to submit payment to the South Carolina Department of Revenue. This form/coupon also has an electronic counterpart on the South Carolina MYDORWAY online portal for those who make their payments electronically. There was one minor change to the preliminary […]

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Posted June 29, 2017 by Paul Ogawa
South Carolina Releases Updated Interest Rates for Overpayments and Underpayments

The South Carolina Department of Revenue recently published Information Letter #17-9, detailing interest rates for overpayments and underpayments relating to withholding tax through September 2017. South Carolina publishes these Information Letters periodically throughout the year, and these letters are the primary method of notifying the taxpaying public about changes in withholding tax interest. The […]

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Posted June 28, 2017 by Tom Hospod
Senate Delays Vote on Health Care Bill until after July 4th Recess

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Tuesday afternoon that the Senate would not hold a vote this week on the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017, as had been originally planned. Senate leadership cited a need for further revision to the original draft, as five Senators have vowed to vote against the bill in its current form. A […]

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Posted June 28, 2017 by Sovos
United Kingdom Publishes Guidance on Supply-Splitting Tax Avoidance Schemes

On June 26, 2017 Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) published Spotlight 38, which divulges the HMRC position on supply-splitting tax avoidance schemes. The publication makes clear that HMRC considers any type of VAT supply-splitting arrangements, when designed to reduce the amount of VAT owed, to be tax avoidance. The publication goes on to state […]

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Posted June 27, 2017 by Tom Hospod
CBO Scores Senate Healthcare Bill–22 Million Additional Uninsured

The Congressional Budget Office has handed down its report on last week’s discussion draft of the Senate’s Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017. By the CBO’s estimate, the Senate bill would result in an additional 22 million Americans being uninsured over the next 10 years – on top of the current estimated 28 million who […]

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Posted June 27, 2017 by Sovos
No Tax Breaks for Georgians

Georgia residents will not be getting a break on their back-to-school shopping next month.  Each year, the legislature passes sales tax holidays for back-to-school items and energy efficient appliances; however, the legislature did not pass any holidays for 2017.  Therefore, there will be no tax break for back-to-school items in July, and no tax break […]

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Posted June 27, 2017 by Alex Samuel
West Virginia Increases Motor Vehicle Sales Tax

West Virginia recently enacted legislation which will increase the motor vehicle sales tax from 5% to 6% effective July 1, 2017. Dealers are required to collect and remit this tax to the Division of Motor Vehicles. Revenue generated from this tax increase will be used to fund highway construction projects across the state. The post West Virginia […]

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Posted June 27, 2017 by Charles Riordan
India Notifies Non-Resident OIDAR GST Registration Process

On June 19, 2017, the Indian Central Board of Excise and Customs published Notification 02/2017-Integrated Tax regarding the registration process for non-resident suppliers of online information and database access retrieval (OIDAR) services. The notification is available here. It provides that, pursuant to sub-section (2) of section 14 of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, non-resident […]

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Posted June 27, 2017 by Sovos
Final push for Implementing the SII

The Spanish tax administration (AEAT) has released a comprehensive set of files, tools, and documents necessary for the definitive implementation of the Immediate Information Remittance system, locally known as SII Version 1.0. As of June 15, all of the documentation, testing and validation files available to taxpayers and software providers were based on pre-releases used for […]

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