There are lots of fancy names given to taxes these days. In our very own Florida, we have a humdinger … the discretionary tax. Now, Florida for a long time has kept it simple…6% sales tax, paid by all, easy, clean done…but it seems many counties have decided there’s some revenue to be generated through sales tax collection, hence the introduction of the discretionary tax rules.
The discretionary tax is really just a fancy way of saying county sales tax, but what’s really interesting about this tax is that its supposed to be collected by any and all vendors who make sales into the designated counties…even OUT-OF-STATE vendors. Now, like many of these taxes, the issue for many storeowners is one of likelihood that the Department of Revenue in the State of Florida is going to track you down to get you to pay. Some interesting charts on this from the state’s own website are below:
Florida Sales Tax page
Florida Discretionary Taxes
If you have a business in the state of Florida and collect sales tax, you should definitely check out the rules, as the discretionary tax rules seem pretty clear. In all honesty, I don’t think the state of Florida is making any kind of concerted effort to collect these taxes above and beyond the standard 6%, but then with economic times being what they are, one shouldn’t bet on things remaining that way. Besides, the point of a solution like AccurateTax is to make it simple for storeowners to be compliant with the tax laws, not skirt them or shirk them.
If you’d like to learn more about AccurateTax’s TaxTools, please feel free to contact us at 866.400.2444 or info@accuratetax.com.
I’ve been involved in taxes for longer then I care to admit, both on the personal side (all my working life!!) and from a legal standpoint since passing the bar and pursuing tax law. I’ve provided a lot of advice and righted a lot of wrongs, and I must say that what you’ve posted makes perfect sense. Please keep up the good work – the more people know the better they’ll be equipped to deal with the tax man, and that’s what it’s all about.
The IRS e-flie system is now open, most W-2s and 1099s will be in mail in the next couple of weeks. Is everybody ready for tax time?