NY publishes a (truly) must-read SUT booklet

Hot off the presses this month, available as a free 16-page (not inclusive of the “Notes” and other superfluous pages) .pdf file here, the “Purchaser’s Obligations to Pay Sales Use Taxes Directly to the Tax Department: Questions and Answers” (Publications 774 of 1/10) could be the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance’s best [...]

Yet again, no SUT refund for Home Depot

As the economy continues to struggle along, courts are clogged with cases concerning uncollectible credit card accounts. One such case recently caught my eye, this one out of the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, particularly in its ruling denying Home Depot a sales and use tax refund on such default accounts that were financed [...]

Because It’s Such a Privilege to Sell Into New York

Not only do New Jersey merchants (and denizens in general) get the short end of the cultural stick vis-à-vis their neighbor to the East, right across the Hudson River, but now they’ll have to pay for the privilege of collecting sales taxes for New York. New Jersey businesses, along with several other border states, have [...]

You are what you eat, revisited: a tax on sugary beverages

Last December I mused over the proposed “obesity tax” on sugary drinks in New York, where it seriously feels just short of a crime to be fat, particularly on the island of Manhattan (and more particularly still during Fashion Week). But now it seems the idea has gone national. President Obama, in fact, has gone [...]

Economic Recovery? Not According to Sales Tax Receipts

Today marks the one year anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and financial news networks large and small are focusing on what, if any, real changes have been instituted on Wall Street and whether our economy, not just our banking system, is on better footing in September 2009. Not if we measure the strength [...]

Sales Tax Receipts Show Worst Decline in Half a Century

Sales tax receipts make up one of the best indicators of how a consumer-driven economy is faring. We’re not faring well. And sales tax receipts are the primary source, outpacing income tax, for the majority of state budgets. Based on the numbers you’re about to read, you can easily understand why so many state budgets [...]

Cover Charges to View Pole Dancing in NY Strip Club – nontaxable as art !??!

I just don’t know how I’ve been getting the reputation for writing about the sexy side of sales tax issues, but numerous people have called my attention to this particular story and practically begged me (some even panted, which is not an easy thing to do via email) to address it here. So much so [...]

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 [...]

Digital Downloads Sales & Use Tax Cheat Sheet, circa early 2009

No matter how I try to slice or dice this topic, this one just isn’t easy. What was once tangible has become, or can be, intangible tomorrow, if it’s not already so today. The issues of nexus, taxability, and others keep shifting in the virtual world. In fact, just minutes after this post was published, [...]

“The Internet Is for Porn”

I’m going to tap my fingers upon the keyboard rather sensitively this morning. Porn is just one of those hot button issues that could be addressed in several different ways. I could, for example, take a post-modern feminist approach and remind readers that the preponderance of the pornography industry is staffed by adults who were [...]

Amazon.com v. New York: Score One for New York

The media, online retailers, and many states are positively a-buzz on today’s news about the dismissal by a New York state judge of the Amazon.com suit challenging that state’s law requiring certain non-New York Internet retailers to collect and remit New York sales tax. The suit – Amazon.com, LLC v. New York State Department of [...]

Zip Codes Mean “Zip” for Sales Tax Purposes

I just had to add a little background and history to yesterday’s post about zip code/sales tax issues: Errors are not tolerated lightly when we dwell in the realm of taxes. Incorrectly charging sales tax can result in fines, audit penalties, or even class-action lawsuits. The only way to accurately apply a correct tax rate [...]