SALT Blog - SALT Blawg

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue (“Department”) issued Sales and Use Tax Bulletin 2019-01 in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, 585 U.S. ___ (2018). The Bulletin clarifies when marketplace and remote sellers, marketplace facilitators, and other vendors maintain a place of business in the state in light of Wayfair.

Wayfair upheld a South Dakota law that imposed economic nexus upon taxpayers who had $100,000 of sales or 200 transactions within the state in a given year. Previous U.S. Supreme Court case law, Quill Corp. v. North ...

Starting March 1, 2018, a remote seller, marketplace facilitator, or referrer, with no physical presence in Pennsylvania but with $10,000 of annual sales into Pennsylvania, must elect to either collect sales tax on transactions, or to abide by various notice and reporting requirements. See HB 542, Act 43 of 2017. If no election is made, the remote seller, marketplace facilitator, and/or marketplace seller is deemed to have elected to comply with the notice and reporting requirements. The Department has begun mailing forms to taxpayers it believes qualify as referrers ...

On August 29, oral arguments were held in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. S.D., No. 28160, which challenges the state’s remote sales tax legislation, S.B. 106. 

Enacted during March 2016, S.B. 106 requires remote sellers to collect and remit tax to the state – even if they have no physical presence in the state – if they have more than $100,000 in sales or make more than 200 separate sales into South Dakota annually. The Bill was specifically crafted as a vehicle to undo the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, 504 U.S. 298 (1992), which prohibits states from ...

Just a few months after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the decision of the Tenth Circuit in Direct Mktg. Ass’n v. Brohl -- which upheld Colorado’s sales tax notice and reporting requirements for out-of-state retailers -- a Pennsylvania lawmaker has reintroduced a bill requiring online retailers to notify Pennsylvania purchasers when sales and use tax is due on their purchases.

In 2010, the Colorado legislature enacted a statute which requires a remote retailer that sells products to Colorado customers, but does not collect Colorado sales tax, to notify those ...

In less than two (2) months, Pennsylvania's 2017 Tax Amnesty Program will commence.  Those individuals with potential Pennsylvania tax liabilities should consider taking advantage of the program, which is slated to run from April 21, 2017 through June 19, 2017.  During those sixty (60) days, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue (“Department”) will waive all penalties and half of the interest for anyone who participates.

The program applies to delinquencies existing as of December 31, 2015 – whether or not the delinquency is known to the Department.  The litany of taxes ...

Crutchfield appealed from imposition of the CAT upon revenue it earned from sales of electronic products within Ohio. Crutchfield is based outside of Ohio, maintains no employees in Ohio, and maintains no facilities in Ohio. The sole business that Crutchfield conducts in Ohio is via the shipment of goods from outside the state to consumers within the state using the United States Postal Service or common-carrier delivery services. Crutchfield contested the issuance of CAT assessments contending that substantial nexus within a state is a necessary prerequisite to imposing the tax ...

by Jennifer Weidler

ARIZONA

Arizona Court Holds that Cooperative Direct Mail Advertising is Not Subject to Use Tax

The Arizona Appeals Court held that cooperative direct mail advertising was not subject to the state’s use tax, since the dominant purpose of the taxpayer’s business was to obtain nontaxable design, mailing and printing services, and not tangible personal property.

INDIANA

Indiana Legislature Passes Bill to Phase Out Inheritance Tax

The Indiana General Assembly has passed legislation, SB 293, which will phase out the state’s inheritance tax, gradually ...

by Jennifer Karpchuk

ARIZONA

Arizona Senate Rejects Proposed Amazon Legislation

The Arizona Senate rejected proposed Amazon legislation, SB 1338, which would have broadened Arizona’s definition of retailer to include any company with a warehouse in the state.

CALIFORNIA

California Revises Publication on Internet Sales, Incorporating eBooks and Apps

The California State Board of Equalization revised Publication 109 regarding Internet Sales, in order to provide guidance on the tax treatment of eBooks and apps.  According to the Publication, the transfer of a ...

by Stewart Weintraub and Jennifer Weidler

The Tennessee Court of Appeals held that an out-of-state book distributor, Scholastic Book Clubs, Inc. (“Scholastic”), was obligated to collect Tennessee sales and use taxes because the distributor had substantial nexus with the state.

The court found the substantial nexus to be present through the local schools and teachers who participated in Scholastic’s program, holding that those teachers acted as agents for the company.  It found that Scholastic utilized teachers to effectuate its sales, creating a de facto ...