December 29, 2014 5 min read
sales verses use tax sales verses use tax Businesses must often decide whether they are liable for sales or use tax on certain property. Sales tax applies to goods purchased for resale to the final consumer, while use tax is assessed when the business uses the property to provide another
Read More December 11, 2014 5 min read
Tennessee assesses use tax on stored property. Sometimes just storing valuable personal property can raise tax issues. A businessman in Tennessee recently learned this lesson when the state assessed more than $100,000 in use tax on stored property against him for keeping a motor home within the state’s borders.
Read More December 09, 2014 5 min read
Commerce Clause Commerce Clause As Congress holds off on extending Internet sales taxes, state courts continue to deal with how to apply local tax laws to online sales. Recently a Florida appeals court rebuffed the state’s effort to collect sales tax from an Internet-based small business that sells flowers, gift
Read More November 18, 2014 5 min read
Long live internet sales tax! internet sales tax internet sales tax Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) made it clear that the bill containing the current version of the Marketplace Fairness Act won’t come up for a vote in the House this session. “The speaker has made clear in the past he
Read More October 27, 2014 5 min read
use tax requirements use tax requirements A Mississippi air business dinged for confusion over sales verses use tax State officials frown upon efforts to circumvent use tax requirements, as an airplane dealer in Mississippi recently learned. What is Use Tax? Most states assess either a sales tax or a use
Read More October 27, 2014 5 min read
New York State court case highlights differences between states when it comes to sales tax refund procedures Class actions seeking sales tax refunds are becoming more prevalent. As noted in “Papa John’s in lawsuit over sales tax on delivery fees,” back in July a federal judge in Miami denied a
Read More October 14, 2014 5 min read
taxability taxability Sales tax laws often distinguish the taxability products and services. For example, a pizza restaurant may have to collect sales tax on the sale of pizzas, but not on any delivery fees attached to that sale. This distinction may not always be obvious, however, and many combined product-service
Read More October 07, 2014 5 min read
Other countries, like Canada, allow licensed producers to cultivate and sell marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Read More September 26, 2014 5 min read
American Indian sales tax exemptions The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the exclusive power to regulate “commerce with the Indian tribes,” a general term used to describe indigenous Native American groups. The federal government presently recognizes 562 American Indian tribes representing nearly 2 million individuals. The secretary of the interior oversees
Read More September 24, 2014 5 min read
Minnesota high court finds that customized software sales tax exempt only if pre-written portion stated separately on invoice Sales tax exemptions often turn on matters of form over substance. How you bill a client – not what you bill them for – can determine whether you must collect sales tax. A Minnesota
Read More September 08, 2014 5 min read
sales tax on delivery fees sales tax on delivery fees On July 23, a federal judge in Tampa declined to dismiss a class action against Papa John’s, America’s fourth-largest pizza chain, over allegations Florida customers were improperly charged sales tax on delivery fees. While the judge did not determine whether
Read More September 08, 2014 5 min read
Hotel occupancy taxes ruled not due on online markups in North Carolina Online travel companies (OTCs) won another important sales tax victory last month in North Carolina, where a state appeals court rejected efforts by four counties to assess occupancy taxes on the fees collected for Internet-based reservations of hotel rooms.
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