Regulatory Analysis
The Treasury Department of Puerto Rico issued Circular Letter 17-18 announcing another postponement of certain deadlines relating to the payment and filing of taxes – including sales tax. The postponements are intended to give businesses opportunity to recover from the possible effects of Hurricane Maria. By way of a quick summary: The deadline for the […]
Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska, has enacted a one-day Sales Tax Holiday effective on October 7, 2017, in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough and the city of Ketchikan. The holiday applies to all sales and rentals of tangible personal property and services normally subject to sales tax except in the following five instances: Rentals with rental periods of […]
On September 13, the South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed a lower court decision limiting the ability of the state to tax e-commerce sellers. This decision continues the prohibition against enforcing SB 106 – the South Dakota “economic nexus” law which imposes a sales tax collection and remittance duty on out-of-state sellers based solely on their […]
The Treasury Department of Puerto Rico issued Circular Letter 17-13 announcing the postponement of certain deadlines relating to the payment and filing of taxes – including sales tax. The postponements are intended to give businesses opportunity to recover from Hurricane Irma. By way of a quick summary: Sales tax, income tax and excise tax filings […]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts recently certified several Initiative Petitions filed by the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. The Association will have until December 6, 2017 to collect the requisite amount of signatures for any petition to appear on a ballot. The Initiative Petitions are as follows: Initiative Petition 17-19 – Would reduce the state sales and […]
On September 4, 2017, the Governor of Puerto Rico declared a commonwealth-wide state of emergency related Hurricane Irma. Under existing law, should this “state of emergency” turn into a “disaster declaration” the Puerto Rico Department of Revenue retains the authority to temporarily suspend state and local sales tax on certain goods and services. While no […]
For those not yet in the know, the Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) has coordinated an unprecedented voluntary disclosure/amnesty program with 24 states. Eligible sellers should give serious consideration to enrolling. More importantly they should take immediate note of the short window of opportunity. The program began on August 17 and will be closing on October […]
Following a recent trend in the United States, North Carolina has joined Indiana and Ohio in exempting currencies that may be used as investments from sales and use tax. North Carolina House Bill 434 (Ch. SL 2017-181) was signed by Governor Roy Cooper on July 25, 2017. The bill, which is retroactively effective on July […]
A provision contained in the FY 2018 Massachusetts Budget looks to set the stage for possible real-time sales tax remittance requirements in the Commonwealth. While nothing is official yet, the Massachusetts legislature believes that it has recognized an opportunity to utilize “third party payment processors” as a means of ensuring proper tax collection and accelerating […]
The California Board of Equalization has been restructured into three separate entities effective July 1, 2017: The State Board of Equalization (the Board), the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) and the Office of Tax Appeals. CDTFA will be housed within the Government Operations Agency while the Board will be an independent agency […]
In the course of testifying at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing a few days ago, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin hinted the Administration may be close to articulating a position on the application of sales tax to remote/internet commerce. Characterizing the issue as one of collection, Secretary Mnuchin recognized that tax revenue from online purchases is […]
In a last ditch effort to move the needle, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker filed legislation that would create a sales tax holiday in the Commonwealth for August 19-20. If passed, the holiday would apply to most any item costing $2,500 or less. Governor Baker has stated "We look forward to working with the Legislature to […]
A few short weeks ago the Massachusetts Department of Revenue enacted and then rescinded Directive 17.1 which was slated to take effect on July 1. The Directive would have imposed a sales tax collection and remittance requirement on remote sellers/internet vendors that provide software (including “cookies”) to Massachusetts customers or use “content distribution networks” located […]
Cook County Illinois will resume collection of their sweetened beverage tax after a judge lifted a temporary restraining order and dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Illinois Retail Merchants Association preventing implementation of the tax. The sweetened beverage tax consists of a $0.01 tax on each ounce of sweetened beverage sold at retail. Retailers are […]
Online sellers should take immediate notice. House Bill 49 has been passed by the Ohio legislature, signed by the governor, and is set to take effect on January 1, 2018. Hidden within its depths, the language of the bill creates a rule that imposes a tax collection and remittance obligation (nexus) on sellers who use software or […]
Maine recently enacted legislation which will require remote sellers to collect and remit sales and use tax on sales into the state of Maine effective October 1, 2017. A person selling tangible personal property, products transferred electronically or services for delivery into Maine will be required to collect sales tax if the person’s sales into Maine in the previous calendar […]
Idahoans will still need to pay taxes on groceries following a recent decision by the state’s Supreme Court. The Idaho Legislature had passed a bill (House Bill 67) exempting groceries from sales tax, this bill was subsequently vetoed by the Governor. The Legislature mounted a legal challenge to the validity of the veto, stating it […]
Washington State recently enacted House Bill 2163 in conjuncture with the State’s recently passed budget. Included in this bill are provisions imposing sales tax obligations on internet sales to Washington consumers. Starting on January 1, 2018 remote sellers who make retail sales of $10,000 a year or more into Washington will be required to either […]