What's New in Massachusetts? An Online Sales Tax Update
A couple of weeks ago we summarized Massachusetts’ Directive 17-1, a new piece of online sales tax legislation that redefined physical presence to include downloaded apps and internet 'cookies' - the data websites store on users' computers and phones to track visits. While Directive 17-2, which repealed the prior directive, was announced at the end of June, the original law redefining physical presence (or nexus) was so distinctive that we wanted to take a closer look at the rule.
Massachusetts’ Online Sales Tax Directive 17-1
What made this state’s approach to online sales tax so uncommon? Sylvia Dion, our colleague and a principal at PrietoDion Consulting Partners, provides a nice summary in a recent blog post for SalesTaxSupport.com. I’ve included a few of her key points below, but the reason so many opposed it (including trade groups) is that it redefines nexus, twisting established precedent to justify collecting sales tax from internet vendors.
It’s worth noting that, unlike other states that have enacted online sales tax legislation, Directive 17-1 was established as an administrative policy from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue rather than the state legislature. Also, because the directive clearly targets "internet vendors," there is a strong argument that it could be discriminatory.
The most interesting part of this directive, however, is the detailed discussion and justification accompanying it, contorting previous precedent and state law to increase the number of online retailers responsible for charging customers for state sales tax.Read more
FOCUS ON OKLAHOMA
This month brings us to the Sooner State of Oklahoma. The state lies between the Great Plains to the West and the Ozark Plateau to the East and is in the Gulf of Mexico watershed, generally sloping from the high plains of its western boundary to the low wetlands of its southeastern boundary. With small mountain ranges, prairies, mesas and eastern forests, most of the state lies in the Great Plains, Cross Timbers, and the U.S. Interior Highlands, a region prone to severe weather.
Oklahoma is on a confluence of three major American cultural regions and historically served as a route for cattle drives, a destination for southern settlers, and a government-sanctioned territory for Native Americans.
What You Need to Know About Massachusetts and Online Sales Tax
Over the last couple of months we’ve been taking a closer look at how various states are approaching the issue of online sales tax. Some states, like Washington and Nevada, have enacted “Amazon Laws” that make some retailers responsible for collecting and remitting state sales tax. Other states, such as Arizona, haven’t created new legislation directly about the issue yet and seem to be waiting to see how the debate is settled, either in Congress or through other states’ laws.
Today we look at a state that has been a little bit slower to enact online sales tax legislation, but is starting to make changes internet retailers need to know about: Massachusetts. Keep reading for the details.Read more
IT'S ALL GREEK TO ME!- US MULTISTATE TAX & FOREIGN COMPANIES
I just returned from an amazing vacation – a cruise of the Mediterranean. We started in Athens, Greece; spent just a couple days there enjoying the history, and then boarded our ship. The cruise took us to the Greek isles of Santorini and Crete, and then we sailed to Italy, the beautiful St. Tropez, France, and finally Barcelona, Spain. We finished our vacation by sampling many, many tapas and wines in Barcelona. About midway through our vacation, I found myself wondering – how could I do US multistate tax consulting somewhere in Europe? I’m still working on that angle, and will certainly keep you posted.
But meanwhile, on the flip side of that equation, we’ve been engaging with several foreign companies who have US operations and find our state tax laws to be, well, challenging! As I tell all my foreign clients – trust me, they are challenging for US companies too! Here are some of the main things for foreign companies to think about as they begin doing business in the US.
What You Need to Know about New York's Online Sales Tax
Overall, the topic of collecting online sales tax is not as cut and dry as some would first assume, with ambiguous meanings and regulations, often confusing business owners. And hopefully, that’s where we come in to help!
In our series we have talked about multiple states, including Nevada, Washington and Colorado, and how each one handles the issue surrounding online sales tax for their state; up next in the lineup is New York.
A Summary of New York’s Online Sales Tax Law
New York was the first state in the country to enact a law for larger internet retailers (back in 2008). This law is referred to as the “Amazon Law,” based on the large internet retailer that used to have physical presence in very few states and therefore wasn’t required to collect sales tax. Amazon has now changed its business model and has worked with many states to collect sales tax. However, over the past several years, many states enacted “Amazon Laws” or “click through” statutes to get ahead of the company and internet retailers. New York was simply the first!Read more
FOCUS ON MISSISSIPPI
This month we travel to the land of Dixie, the southern state of Mississippi. The state is heavily forested with over half of the state’s area covered by wild trees including mostly pine, as well as cottonwood, elm, hickory, oak, pecan, sweetgum and tupelo.
The Mississippi River delta region is considered home of the blues music, where this type of music is honored at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale. This region is also one of the top casino destinations between Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Many well-known and diverse singers came out of Mississippi including Elvis Presley, alternative rock band 3-Doors Down, Jimmy Buffet and Opera Singer Leontyne Price.
An Interesting Look at Nevada and Online Sales Tax
If you’ve been following along with our series about various states’ approach to online sales tax, you can see how multi-state tax issues can get confusing for business owners quickly.
At this point we’ve taken a look at the how Colorado, Alabama, Washington, Texas and Arizona establish nexus, which determines eligibility for state sales tax; today we review Nevada.
A Summary of Nevada’s Online Sales Tax Legislation
Nevada is one of the states that enacted the “Amazon Law” back in 2015. As Nolo.com explains, this means that a couple of years ago the state extended nexus to include:
- Retailers that have an agreement with a business or seller located in Nevada to pay for customer referrals obtained via a link on the Nevada seller’s website (a click-through arrangement)
- The out-of-state retailer’s gross receipts from these directed sales to Nevada customers exceeds $10,000 during the preceding four calendar quarters
ANOTHER MOVE TOWARD ECONOMIC NEXUS
Generally companies establish nexus by having a physical presence in the state. However, several states are pushing the boundaries of defining the physical presence in order to generate more revenue. Welcome to the concept of “economic nexus.”
Nexus and Physical Presence
As we discuss in a previous post, “nexus” is the term used to describe the minimum connection that a company (taxpayer) must have with the state in order for the state to be able to subject the company to its state taxing schemes (including sales tax, income tax, gross receipts tax and others). Nexus is normally established by companies having a physical presence in the state, by virtue of having employees, or third party contractors acting on their behalf in a state, or the presence of a warehouse or storefront in the state. Inventory in a state can also create nexus.Read more
The Inside Scoop: Arizona's Approach to Online Sales Tax
Have you been following our series on how states are approaching the online sales tax debate? So far we’ve taken a look at Colorado, Alabama, Washington and Texas; today we look at Arizona! Keep reading to see how the Grand Canyon State is approaching the issue.
A Summary of Arizona’s Online Sales Tax Legislation
Unlike the other states we’ve covered so far, Arizona interprets the 1992 court case, Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, a little bit more directly. The precedent set forth established that companies need to have a physical presence in the state (or nexus) in order for the state to collect sales tax on a purchase.
While many states establish economic nexus through a variety of provisions, Arizona’s 2015 Tax Handbook clearly states that physical presence as defined by Quill is key. And, as Nolo.com points out, “According to the same section, a company with no physical presence in the state, but whose products are both available in independently-owned Arizona stores and directly from the company via the internet, is not responsible for collecting sales tax.”Read more
Online Sales Tax in Texas: What Do You Need to Know?
Have you been following the online sales tax debate? Congress hasn’t been able to come up with a solution at this point, so states are taking matters into their own hands. This series showcases how various legislatures across the country are approaching the issue. So far we’ve covered Colorado, Alabama and Washington. This week we take a look at Texas.
A Summary of Texas’ Online Sales Tax Legislation
Although the 1992 court case, Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, set precedent that companies need to collect sales tax from customers in states where the business has a physical presence (or nexus), many states - including Texas - interpret that to mean that they can collect sales tax if your enterprise has established nexus in their state by other than just physical presence. This is often referred to as economic nexus.Read more
