Regulatory Analysis

Alaska one of the few places without a state-level sales tax. There are however many independent cities and boroughs which administer and collect their own taxes. As many states across the country seek to reap the tax dollars now available due to the Wayfair decision, the localities in Alaska felt left out in the cold. […]

As the Louisiana Remote Sellers Commission moves forward with their plan to impose sales tax collection requirements on remote sellers, they have taken a step forward by approving a proposal from a new vendor who will design and implement a tax administration system for the state to help manage remote collections. The new vendor will […]

While the Kansas Department of Revenue announced that remote sellers would be required to collect tax on sales made into Kansas beginning on October 1, 2019, the Attorney General issued an opinion stating that the requirement was not lawfully passed and was of no effect. However, the Department maintains that the requirement is valid, leaving […]

[August 14, 2019] West Virginia recently enacted legislation that creates an annual back to school sales tax holiday beginning in 2021. The following items will be exempt from sales tax during the holiday: Items of clothing priced $125 or less; School supply items priced $50 or less; School instructional material priced $20 or less; Laptop and […]

[July 31, 2019] A recently effective New Hampshire law will require states to provide written notice at least 45 days prior to taking any action to determine sales or use tax liability against a New Hampshire remote seller. After receiving notice, the New Hampshire Department of Justice will examine whether any proposed tax collection obligations violate […]

[June 28, 2019] On June 26, 2019, the governor of Connecticut signed HB 7424 into law, thereby decreasing Connecticut’s economic nexus threshold from $250,000 to $100,000. Effective July 1, 2019, Connecticut will require out-of-state retailers to collect and remit sales tax if they had gross receipts of at least $100,000 and made 200 or more retail […]

[August 2, 2019] Among the many changes found in the recently passed Ohio Budget Bill, H.B. 166, Ohio has removed the statutory provisions previously imposing physical nexus standards on sellers using “in-state software” to sell goods and services to consumers inside Ohio. This former nexus standard is commonly referred to as “cookie” nexus. Specifically, under Ohio’s […]

[August 1, 2019] As we approach this year’s Sales Tax Holiday in Massachusetts, a debate has ensued as to whether prepared meals could be purchased tax fee during the weekend of August 17 and 18. The statute establishing the annual Holiday in the “Grand Bargain” legislation of 2018, did not explicitly state that meals were […]

[July 31, 2019] Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker recently signed the 2020 Fiscal Year Budget which includes statutory language establishing a new economic nexus rule effective October 1, 2019. This new law replaces their existing “cookie nexus” standard with requirements emblematic of the national trend subsequent to the Wayfair Supreme Court decision. Under the old rules, a […]

[July 30, 2019] North Carolina has approved a bill that expands sales tax on digital property by eliminating the requirement that an item have a taxable, tangible corollary in order to be taxable.  The bill, which goes into effect October 1, 2019, defines “certain digital property” as audio works, audiovisual works, books, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, reports, […]

[July 24, 2019] On July 23, 2019, the Ohio Department of Taxation released a tax alert clarifying and detailing the sales tax and nexus implications for marketplace facilitators, based on the recent passing of Ohio H.B. 166.  As previously reported by Sovos, H.B. 166 obligates marketplace facilitators to collect and remit Ohio sales taxes on behalf of […]

[July 18, 2019] On July 17, 2019, the Ohio legislature passed House Bill 166, which among other provisions, enacts a requirement for marketplace facilitators to collect and remit sales and use tax on behalf of all sellers who use the marketplace when certain conditions are met.  Under House Bill 166, marketplace facilitators are required to collect […]

[July 19, 2019] Non-Kansans, it is time to collect in the Sunflower State! Earlier this year, it looked as if Kansas was going to buck the national trend of establishing economic nexus for remote sellers when the Governor vetoed House Bill 2033, which outlined when a remote seller would be deemed to have established nexus […]

[July 11, 2019] On June 28, 2019, the governor of Pennsylvania signed HB 262 into law. Effective July 1, 2019, this law requires any person or business with $100,000 or more in annual gross sales to Pennsylvania customers to collect and remit Pennsylvania’s 6 percent sales tax on taxable transactions. The law codifies the economic nexus […]

[July 8, 2019] Wisconsin recently enacted legislation requiring marketplace facilitators to collect tax on behalf of their marketplace sellers when certain thresholds are met. Marketplace facilitators must collect tax when they have 200 or more transactions or gross sales of more than $100,000 in the current or previous calendar year. The law goes into effect January […]

[July 9, 2019] The Governor of Hawaii recently signed SB 162 into law. This bill has direct and immediate impact on motor vehicle rental companies doing business in the state of Hawaii. Specifically, pursuant to this new bill, effective July 1, 2019, the rental motor vehicle surcharge is increased from $3.00 per day (or any portion […]

[July 1, 2019] Maine has recently enacted legislation requiring marketplace facilitators that meet certain sales thresholds to collect tax on behalf of their marketplace sellers. Marketplace facilitators must collect tax when they have 200 or more separate transactions or gross sales of more than $100,000 during the current or previous calendar year. The law goes into […]

While Louisiana is one of the few states (as of today) that does not actively require out-of-state vendors to collect their sales tax, they are poised to begin. At present, collection of the simplified 8.45% remote seller sales tax is voluntary; however, in the wake of the passage of Act 360 (HB547) related to remote […]