On January 21, 2021, the City of Chicago’s Department of Finance issued an informational bulletin clarifying its position regarding economic nexus for Chicago’s amusement tax as applied to streamed amusements and Chicago’s personal property lease transaction tax (“PPLTT”). It also announced a “safe harbor” that businesses can rely upon when analyzing nexus. Chicago states that … Continue Reading
On June 30, 2020, the Tennessee legislature passed SB 2932 which reduces the economic nexus sales threshold for remote sellers from $500,000 to $100,000 in the past 12-month period. It also makes the same reduction in the sales or sales facilitated threshold for marketplace facilitators for sales made through the facilitator’s platform. The law becomes effective … Continue Reading
The Kansas Department of Revenue recently released Notice 19-04 (the “Notice”) which provides that all remote sellers making sales into the state are required to register for and begin collecting and remitting sales and use tax effective October 1, 2019, raising significant Constitutional concerns. Notably, the Notice cites no transaction or dollar thresholds for determining … Continue Reading
In the late nineteenth century, Annie Oakley was arguably the most famous woman in the country. She was renowned for her skill as a sharpshooter and traveled the country in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show performing mind-blowing feats. She is credited with shooting the ashes off a lit cigarette hanging out of someone’s mouth and … Continue Reading
On June 21, 2018, in its South Dakota v. Wayfair, 138 S. Ct. 2080 (2018), decision, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed its “physical presence” nexus test established over a quarter century earlier in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, 504 U.S. 298 (1992). In Wayfair, the Court held that “economic nexus” arising from “economic and virtual … Continue Reading
Illinois recently passed Public Act 100-587 which requires remote sellers with no physical presence in Illinois to register and collect Use Tax on sales sourced to the state if certain thresholds are met, effective October 1, 2018. On September 11, 2018, the Department issued an emergency regulation, Sec. 150.803 to provide further guidance on the … Continue Reading
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, overturning Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, 504 U. S. 298 (1992) and National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Department of Revenue of Ill., 386 U. S. 753 (1967), that required businesses to have a physical presence in a taxing jurisdiction in order to … Continue Reading
In a narrow 5-4 decision, the Court in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. overruled its long-held precedent and held that under the Commerce Clause physical presence is no longer the touchstone for sales tax nexus. Dating back to its decision in National Bellas Hess in 1967, the Court had been clear that a state sales … Continue Reading
Limited tax amnesty programs gain popularity every few years and this is one of those years. The Alabama legislature has joined the growing list of states providing amnesty programs for taxpayers with unreported tax liabilities. The Tax Delinquency Amnesty Act of 2018 was recently passed and will be in effect from July 1, 2018, to … Continue Reading
The United States Supreme Court has recently agreed to hear oral argument in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. – a case exploring the boundaries of sales and use tax nexus. The crux of the dispute in Wayfair relates to the defining purposes and protections of Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Much of the discussion … Continue Reading
The Mississippi Department of Revenue adopted a new sales and use tax regulation articulating the Department’s position regarding out-of-state sales into the state. The regulation provides that sellers lacking physical presence in the state “but who are purposefully or systematically exploiting the Mississippi market have a substantial economic presence for use tax purposes if their … Continue Reading
It has long been the law of the land that a taxpayer must have a discernable physical presence in a state before it can be required to collect and remit sales and use taxes. The U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed this bright-line test in the 1992 case of Quill Corp. v. North Dakota. In Quill, the … Continue Reading
Since the landmark decision of Quill Corp. v. North Dakota in 1992, the law of the land has been that an out-of-state business has sales and use tax nexus with a state only when it is a physical presence. This physical presence can manifest itself in several ways – real or personal property sitused or … Continue Reading
We are all familiar with the concept of tax nexus. In order to lawfully impose tax, the taxpayer must have sufficient contacts – or nexus – with the taxing state. The Avnet case dealt with the concept of dissociation – or transactional nexus. At issue in Avnet was whether the taxpayer could bifurcate – or … Continue Reading
The cookie monster famously devours handfuls of cookies. Thanks to recent developments in states’ thinking on physical presence, nexus, and internet commerce, states may use technology “cookies” to devour ever larger shares of companies’ revenues.… Continue Reading
Taxpayers routinely use pass-through entities (PTEs) such as limited partnerships, limited liability companies, or S corporations to conduct multistate business. Because most states conform to federal law, there is no entity-level tax on the PTE. Instead, states seek to tax the owners of the PTE on the income received – or passed-through – from the … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court of Missouri recently held that TracFone, a Miami-based telecommunications company, was not entitled to claim a statutory sales tax exemption relating to retail sales “in commerce.” TracFone purchased “air time” from national carriers for resale. The “air time” and a TracFone handset were sold to Missouri residents in prepaid packages. All handsets … Continue Reading
In a highly anticipated decision, the Ohio Supreme Court recently held that the physical presence of a taxpayer in Ohio is not a prerequisite for the imposition of the Ohio Commercial Activity Tax (or CAT). This decision will likely signal a “green light” for revenue-hungry states seeking additional to shore up budget deficits.… Continue Reading