U.S. Sales Tax for Amazon FBA International Sellers
Are you a foreign company selling on Amazon’s U.S. marketplace? Do you use Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon (“FBA”) service? If you answered “yes” to these questions – you will want to read this post! When I first started blogging about U.S. Sales Tax for Foreign Sellers, I wrote a post about tax treaties and U.S. sales tax […]
Economic Nexus: The “New Normal” or the Demise of Quill?
IMPORTANT UPDATE: Since the original publication of this post, the South Dakota law, discussed in detail below, was challenged as unconstitutional. On June 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court held in favor of the state in South Dakota v. Wayfair and overturned the physical presence standard – opening the door for other states to adopt […]
Internet Retailers Find Expanding Sales Tax Laws and Pending Federal Legislation Confusing and Concerning
State Amazon Laws, Federal Legislation: Last month I presented two Webinars, both which dealt with one of my favorite (okay, my favorite) state tax topics – “Internet Sales Taxes”. The first Webinar, “State ‘Amazon Laws’ and Federal Remote Seller Proposals“, was a CPE Webinar geared towards CPAs. The second, “How to Navigate the Online Sales […]
The Biggest State Tax Story of 2011: Internet Sales Taxes
It’s the end of 2011 and like many of you I’m reflecting on this past year – on how life has changed, how the kids have grown, and what the coming year has in store. But as a state tax consultant, I’m also reflecting on some incredible 2011 state tax developments. In February of 2011, I […]
State Tax Nexus – Triggered By So Much Less Than an Obvious Physical Presence
Nexus! Now here’s a term that’s been used quite often these days, especially in the debate about whether internet retailers should be charging sales tax on sales to customers in states in which the e-tailers have no presence. If you’ve been following the many reports on the “internet sales tax” dilemma, you’ve likely seen the […]
A Tale of Two “Main Street Fairness” Blog Posts
Congress has once again introduced federal legislation, which if passed, could require out-of-state retailers to charge and collect sales tax on sales to customers in certain states . That right, on July 29, 2011, Congressional Democrats in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives introduced “internet sales tax” legislation. In the Senate, S. 1452 was introduced by […]
Are State “Amazon Laws” the “New Normal”?
The “New Normal”, a phrase coined in 2008 to describe the then-new period of diminished investment returns and slower economic growth that seemed permanent after the financial crisis and recession of the last decade. Many have borrowed this term to describe what wasn’t expected or normal in the past, but now is. As I closely […]
The State Franchise Tax: Another Business Tax to Consider
Practical SALT Guidance: Last week I received an e-mail from a business associate. He’s a member of a high-technology finance executive group which includes CFOs, finance VPs, and corporate controllers, many whom work for high-tech start-ups. Along with his e-mail, he forwarded a fellow member’s question on state franchise taxes. The question stated that this executive’s company […]
Voluntary Disclosure Programs: Another Avenue for Resolving State Tax Delinquencies
Practical SALT Guidance, State Tax Controversy Options: In the past, I’ve written about and explained State Tax Amnesty programs. (See my August 23, 2010 “Buzz” post, “State Tax Amnesty: An Opportunity for Taxpayers to Pay Delinquent Taxes, What Taxpayers Need to Know“) State tax amnesties have been very popular in the last few years as a […]
Navigating Nexus, Published in the November 2010 Issue of the Journal of Accountancy
Nexus, nexus, nexus, aahhhh, NEXUS! The mere word can send a chill down the spine of a taxpayer who suspects its activities in a state may have created that sufficient “connection” or “tie” to subject him to a state’s income or other business tax, or to be subject to a state’s sales tax collection requirement. […]