Tax Legislation Blog Posts
The Next Round of New Sales Tax Laws in CA, FL and NM
As we approach the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. decision, a wave of new sales tax laws is about to be enacted in several large states throughout the country. Already to date there are laws in more than 30 states and several more set to go into effect in 2019. While some of these laws were already on the books before Wayfair and weren’t enforceable pending legislation, many others have been passed since the ruling as states no longer face constitutional challenges to their taxing authority on out of state sellers. Let’s take… Read More
Virginia Senate Passes Bill Implementing Remote Sales Tax
The Virginia Senate recently passed Senate Bill 1083, a new law that would allow the state to start collecting sales tax from remote sellers out of state. Originally introduced to the Virginia Senate at the start of the 2019 legislative session, the bill has now passed and is expected to be signed by Governor Ralph Northam in the coming weeks. When signed, this bill will make Virginia the latest of more than 30 states to implement some form of remote sales tax on out of state sellers, something that was considered unconstitutional until very recently. While vendors work to fully… Read More
Congressional Bills Resulting from the Wayfair Decision on Sales Tax
Last year was a significant year for all businesses that sell across state lines online. The June 21, 2018 US Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v Wayfair struck down more than 25 years of precedent, allowing states to collect sales tax on remote sales without the need for physical nexus. The result was a wave of anxiety among small and medium sized businesses that were not yet equipped to collect and process these transactions for each individual state. Since the Supreme Court’s decision, more than a dozen additional states have passed or moved forward to enact previously passed sales… Read More
New Sales Tax Laws Going into Effect in 2019
Few years have had as big of an impact on how small businesses operate online as 2018. With the landmark US Supreme Court Decision in Wayfair v. South Dakota, economic nexus regulations became the law of the land in dozens of states around country, with many more queued up almost immediately. What this means for businesses that don’t have the infrastructure to manage sales tax collection for an increasing number of states, remains to be seen, but that hasn’t stopped other states from passing or moving forward to implement their own economic nexus laws in the latter half of 2018… Read More
Midterm Tax Measure Results for 2018
Every year at the ballot box, there are several tax measures across the country. On average, about half of those measures will pass, impacting residents in a variety of ways – from new sales tax regulations to levies and property tax increases for local education initiatives. This year was no different, with 18 midterm election tax measures considered on November 6. Let’s take a closer look at which of these passed and what the new laws will mean for affected residents. Michigan Proposal 1 Michigan became the first state in the Midwest to legalize marijuana by passing Proposal 1 by… Read More
Why Wayfair Isn’t Really a New Tax
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
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
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