Fiscal 2010 Looking Ugly

As discussed in an April Sales Tax Buzz post, sales tax receipts generally outpace income taxes as the primary food source for state budgets. Noting the dismal Q2 receipts that came off a disastrous Q1 2009, while considering that June closes the fiscal year in a majority of states, fiscal 2010 does not look pretty [...]

Minnesota’s #1 Sales Tax Dodger Nabbed

Department of Revenue workers temporarily morph into the “repo man” Remember the post about Minnesota’s sales tax hall of shame? In that post, I pointed to a list the state has published online for about the past year or so with the names of businesses that owe back sales taxes. Turns out number one on [...]

A Tax Hike in Minnesota Never Sounded Sweeter

But Go Shopping In Minnesota Now, Not Later If there was a contest, I’d give the Minnesota Department of Revenue the sweetness award. When it announces a tax increase, it does so in the loveliest of ways, rattling off such feel good items as prairies and clean drinking water. Leave it to one of the [...]

Online Sales Tax Roundup: Internet Cowboys & Cowgirls, Open Your Eyes

UPDATED APRIL 14, 2009 It is my firmly held belief that as one state after another (no matter the size or perceived “importance” of any particular state) will possibly be able to pass Internet sales tax legislation, others are more likely to follow suit. Early adopters can pave the way towards the future in this [...]

Minnesota’s Sales Tax Hall of Shame: tsk, tsk

It’s raining here in Seattle today (big surprise), so I’d rather be typing in a bit of a pick-me-up post this morning, but this recent headline from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal caught my eye: Minnesota’s Web-site-of-shame recovers quarter-million in back sales taxes Ouch! Evidently, the state introduced a practice last year to publish online [...]

Is Fido’s Adoption a Sales Taxable Event?

We might not think there are many taxability questions when it comes to our beloved pets, but in fact there are as many tax rules concerning pets and pet supplies as there are dog breeds at the Westminster Dog Show. Here’s just a small sample of the myriad of taxability concerns and the tax regions [...]