Tax Legislation Blog Posts

Why Wayfair Isn’t Really a New Tax

August 29, 2018

The biggest news in online commerce this year was the June 5-4 decision by the US Supreme Court that overturned the 1992 ruling in Quill v. North Dakota. That previous ruling effectively made it impossible for states to collect sales tax from businesses that did not have a physical presence within their borders. The case, South Dakota v. Wayfair, was a bellwether against which many other states will now measure and adjust their sales tax policies, some of which have already been passed into law and were merely waiting for this decision. But there’s been a consistent habit in media… Read More

The US Supreme Court Overturns “Quill” Ban on Online Sales Tax

June 21, 2018

In a 5-4 decision announced on Thursday, the Supreme Court overturned a 1992 ruling in Quill vs. North Dakota that explicitly banned states from taxing companies that don’t have a physical presence within their borders. The ruling came in the case of South Dakota vs. Wayfair, as South Dakota attempted to overturn the previous ruling. South Dakota cited their losses in not being able to collect sales tax on online sales, totaling nearly $50 million a year, and the Government Accountability Office citing nearly $14 billion in total missed tax revenue for all states. The case was a divisive issue… Read More

Washington’s New Marketplace Facilitator Sales Tax Law

February 28, 2018

One of the most confusing and frustrating issues to deal with as an online seller is the question of sales tax. Understanding when you have an obligation to collect sales tax from your customers is a challenge, and in part, that’s because even tax and legal experts don’t always agree. One constant in the debate, however, is the fact that states are continuing to search for ways to collect sales tax from online sales. One new addition to this dynamic is the recently enacted Marketplace Facilitator Law in Washington state. What Is the Marketplace Facilitator Law? The Marketplace Facilitator Law… Read More

Is Massachusetts’ Cookie Tax Half-Baked?

October 12, 2017

As retail patterns have shifted away from in-person purchases in brick-and-mortar stores towards online shopping, states have been struggling with how to recoup the sales tax revenue lost to those online sales. That was the driving force behind several moves the government of Massachusetts made recently to try and compel out-of-state retailers with no physical presence in the state to collect and remit sales tax on purchases made by Massachusetts customers. Directive 17-1 The current regulation was the result of a court challenge to the state’s initial attempt at collecting sales tax from online sellers. This was Directive 17-1, and… Read More

No Regulation without Representation Act of 2017

September 19, 2017

On June 12, 2017, Representative James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis) introduced House Resolution (H.R.) 2887, or the No Regulation without Representation Act of 2017. This bill seeks to clarify what states can and cannot regulate when it comes to interstate commerce, including with respect to the collection of sales tax. These are issues that are becoming more and more urgent due to the increasing volume of online sales as a share of the market, and that trend is only going to grow for the foreseeable future. What’s in the Bill? The bill stipulates that states can only regulate interstate commerce when the… Read More