Digital download tax hits home, my home.

The inevitable happened. I’ve been spending so much time thinking and even daring to write about tax on digital downloads that I might have attracted it right into my own little world. Yesterday, I received one of the most heart wrenching emails a habitual downloader can receive. The subject line read “New Rhapsody Tax Policy” [...]

Updated: Replacing Resale Certificates to Curb Sales Tax Abuses in WA

UPDATED MAY 28, 2009, just days after posting, to illustrate with a case in point. See below. UPDATED AUGUST 18, 2009, yet again. Another case in point. See below below. UPDATED October 5, 2009, WA DOR released reminder, “Major change coming to buying goods and services for resale.” See below, below, below. The Washington State [...]

“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 [...]

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 [...]

Health and Physical Fitness, West Virginia v. Washington State

While engaging in deep yogic breathing and meditation early this morning, my mind wandered to the way two states, situated on opposite sides of the country, have recently addressed the definition of health and physical fitness for sales and use tax purposes. West Virginia recently provided an interpretation of “health and fitness” in relation to [...]

“I’ll have a double tall, no whip mocha cappuccino, but hold the sales tax, please”

Your double tall, iced vanilla mocha might not be taxable, depending on where you buy it. In California, if you order your drink to go and the establishment from which you’re purchasing is not subject to the 80/80 rule, sales tax does not apply. But if the establishment receives more than 80 percent of its [...]