Comments for Sales Tax Buzz

Comment on Oklahoma Enacts Colorado-ish Use Tax Noticing Requirement. by New Zealand Supermarket

New Zealand Supermarket — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 04:29:02 +0000

“Sales tax is a consumption use tax charged at the point of purchase for certain goods or services” (businessweek.com business exchange). A use tax is a type of excise tax levied upon personal property purchased and used by a resident. A use tax applies when sales tax has not been applied.

Comment on Direct Marketers Take Aim at Colorado Reporting and Notice Regulations. by shamtest

shamtest — Sat, 14 May 2011 09:44:17 +0000

I can’t seem to look at this page from my iphone!!!!

Comment on Would California’s License Plate Adverts be Subject to Sales Tax Under New Federal Trade Commission Rules? by vat registration

vat registration — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 10:11:02 +0000

You Americans are so savvy and quick to pick up on new technologies.

Here in the UK; just the idea of this would have tax payers shaking in the their boots with fear!

John D

Comment on Amazon.com v. New York: Score One for New York by Amazon.com & other online retailers costing states $7B a year? | Avalara Blog

Tue, 09 Nov 2010 04:28:54 +0000

[...] these stormy days of the ongoing saga between Amazon.com and a number of states (see here, here, here, and here), the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policies Priorities released a [...]

Comment on e-Roundtable on The Main Street Fairness Act: experts discuss Internet sales tax by Amazon.com & other online retailers costing states $7B a year? | Avalara Blog

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 23:24:50 +0000

[...] enact a federal solution (i.e. the Main Street Fairness Act – for more on this legislation, see here, here, and here), we’ll comply and even support that [...]

Comment on Amazon.com & other online retailers costing states $7B a year? by Amazon.com & other online retailers costing states $7B a year? | Avalara Blog

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 23:24:30 +0000

[...] blog, Posted on November 18, 2009. The blog post in it’s original form can be read here. This blog entry is a FANTASTIC post on the ongoing battle between Amazon.com and several [...]

Comment on Direct Marketers Take Aim at Colorado Reporting and Notice Regulations. by Brian Greer

Brian Greer — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 13:43:57 +0000

This will be interesting to follow as there are several potential issues with these new laws…(1) the reporting function for the out-of-state retailer will often be more burdensome than the collection responsibility – by requiring only out-of-state retailers to adhere to the reporting requirement this could easily be considered “discriminatory”. (2) there could be First Amendment issues by compelling the out-of-state retailer to disclose more information than necessary.

Comment on Buffalo Tax Professionals: Sales Tax Compliance is Really Important! by John Diggers

John Diggers — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 13:29:52 +0000

“The best advice to give clients,” (William Comiskey) said, “is to treat this money like it doesn’t belong to you — because it doesn’t.”

Could NOT agree more!

Comment on Take Me Out to the (Internet Travel Booking) Ballgame! by sk

sk — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:31:47 +0000

I wonder how much they are spending to fight this versus how much tax really would have been collected… The only people that win when things like this go to court are the lawyers…and Im sure they just love baiting the 2 sides on….

Comment on Virginia Sales Tax Vendors Discover that Compliance Requires a Loan to Richmond by Roy Ewers

Roy Ewers — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:02:21 +0000

obviously very few understand the sales tax process. I own a hardware store that made more than 1 million. My monthly fixed costs due to rent on 25,000 sq ft is 48,000 dollars in Sprinfield VA. My payroll runs 22,000 for 58 employees. My loan payment on the business is 20,558. my inventory costs is $80,000 dollars. My health care I give my employees cost 9,000 a month. Add in my electric payments CAM charges and I have to shell out an average of 280,000 per month. My sales have dropped the last two years where I have had a loss each quarter. Now I pay the sales tax due and an estimated sales tax that is accelerated meaning for me I have to pay between the normal may and the estimated june $36,000 dollars. This is a interest free loan to the state gov. It is a hat trick so they can recieve money that doesn’t exist in advance essentially money coming out of the business reserves. Which have been hit hard by the current economy. Sadly I have very little reserve and will have to make decisions on staffing going forward. If the tax was done normally I would have until the 20th of each month to pay and will have made enough to cover it. Since this is not the case here I have to cut back on employee hours to make sure I have enough to pay the accelerated tax and all my other bills plus payroll. So everyone suffers. The hardship exemption is a joke. They don’t even give you a form to fill out and they only grant it in extrodinary circumstances. What they consider extrodinary is if the end of the world happens they will let you slide.

Comment on Virginia Sales Tax Vendors Discover that Compliance Requires a Loan to Richmond by Shane Ratigan

Shane Ratigan — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 21:04:02 +0000

I can’t disagree with your comment john on the grounds that the accelerated payments probably do not really change much for an elite (?) bunch of vendors who are likely already involved in some sort of estimated payment regime.

My usual theme is the complexity that vendors face in the everyday environment, and I’ll admit this story only minimally applies.

A little healthy hyperbole aside, vendors are subject to a rickety sales tax machine built of multiple sources and authorities, piecemeal lawmaking and constant changes. The machine works pretty well most of the time, but high compliance costs and risks are borne by business, and thus borne by consumers.

It all just seems so inefficient.

This non-story was a way of bringing home the point that the sales tax universe can be absurd.

Thank you for the comment

Comment on Virginia Sales Tax Vendors Discover that Compliance Requires a Loan to Richmond by john

john — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 17:28:13 +0000

I believe the vendors are collecting sales tax as they make sales through the month and that money belongs to the state and not the vendors. The state is seeking to get that money faster. Yes, it works out as a budget gimmick but it isn’t a horrible atrocity inflicted on the vendor population. It’s approximately the estimated tax system for income taxes applied to sales taxation.