Response: Time Magazine Cover Story – The Broken States of America

June 30, 2010

ILLUSTRATION BY JOE ZEFF DESIGN FOR TIME - Image Courtesy of Time, Inc.

I trust you have already seen and read the cover story of Time magazine this week, but if you haven’t, check it out now.

The article does a masterful job of describing the current financial crisis in most states. It even  details how the states have not seen such financial calamity since the Great Depression. Strangely, though, the article does not address the action states took after the Great Depression to ensure such a situation would never happen again. Since you are reading our blog, you probably already know what they did: They created the sales and use tax system.

Their goal at the time rings true to this day, more than 70 years later. The purpose of the sales and use tax paradigm was to have a more progressive, consumption-based system of taxation. After establishing sales and use tax as a way to finance local services, many localities were able to fund up to 40% of their annual budgets through the collection of sales taxes. Unfortunately, the brightest minds of the 1930s could never have imagined a marketplace of the scale and ubiquity of the internet. As shoppers have migrated online, largely for convenience, the practice of collecting local sales taxes at the time of the transaction has not migrated with them. And now that the internet marketplace is maturing, local governments have seen proceeds from sales taxes drop to approximately 16% of their annual budgets—hardly a coincidence.

Most internet merchants do not collect local sales taxes because the Supreme Court, in 1967 (Bellas Hess) and again in 1992 (Quill), ruled that it would be too difficult for a “remote seller” (mail-order catalogs at the time) to calculate and remit local sales taxes for the thousands of tax jurisdictions in the country. In these rulings, the court did point out that one day technology would likely solve this problem, but even then, they said, only an act of Congress could grant states the authority to compel out-of-state merchants to collect sales tax (just as bricks-and-mortar merchants are required to do). Today, many internet merchants rely upon the Quill ruling to justify their non-collection of sales taxes. (Ironically, the Quill Corporation, which litigated this matter against North Dakota all the way to the US Supreme Court in 1992, now collects sales taxes on all their internet sales—even in states where Quill Corp. has no physical presence.)

Hopefully a few of our legislators in Washington, DC, will read the Time magazine article and agree with us that the time has come for federal legislation requiring out-of-state merchants to collect local sales taxes. It is time to introduce (and pass) the Main Street Fairness Act. The Main Street Fairness Act does not contemplate or suggest any new taxes; it simply allows states to require merchants to collect sales tax at the time of a transaction, instead of relying upon the consumer to report and pay these taxes later.

Regarding the Supreme Court opinion that collecting sales tax is too difficult for remote sellers: Our TaxCloud service launches tomorrow! TaxCloud manages local sales tax calculation for every jurisdiction in the United States. In the 23 (soon 24) states that conform to the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, TaxCloud also manages collection, remittance, and sales tax returns for all TaxCloud registered merchants—all for free.

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All aboard!?

June 30, 2010

Originally posted 1/22/2010 – Last UPDATED 6/30/2010 – Wow, there has been a lot of activity in individual States over the last few weeks after the State of New York reported generating $53 million in new sales and use tax revenue from the 30 companies ensnared by their Complex Nexus legislation (often referred to as the “Amazon” Tax – as we have written about before). While Rhode Island and North Carolina passed similar legislation last year, they have not reported how successful their efforts have been. Amazon.com ceased all affiliate operations in RI & NC based upon their adoption of these laws. Amazon has not ceased affiliate operations in New York, but has been engaged in an ugly court battle to challenging the validity and constitutionality of the law. California and Hawaii also considered (but did not pass) similar legislation late last year.

41 States have already identified significant budget shortfalls, projecting the worst budget shortfall ever! Our friends at The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities just released a detailed (and terrifying) report outlining a projected $194 billion deficit for 2010, and another $180 billion deficit for 2011.

As of this writing four states five states (just added Vermont) seven states (just added Maryland & Illinois) eight states (added California) nine nineteen states (just added Connecticut) added a bunch more have considered some sort of sales (use) tax legislation:

STATE BILL INTRODUCED EFFECTIVE TYPE SUMMARY STATUS
ALL (FEDERAL LEGISLATION) HR5660 7/1/10 Main Street Fairness Act Gives states the right to require remote sellers to collect sales tax.  States must be members of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement. Introduced into Congress by Rep. Delahunt (D-MA).  Has supporters from both the Democratic and Republican parties, as well as support from states.
Arkansas Entity Isolation Existing legislation prohibits merchants from practicing entity isolation (i.e. claiming that web operations and store operations are unrelated). Entity isolation legislation in effect.
California Entity Isolation

Notification

 Existing legislation prohibits merchants from practicing entity isolation (i.e. claiming that web operations and store operations are unrelated).

Separate legislation has been considered to require merchants notify CA purchasers during checkout that they may owe Use tax.

 Entity isolation legislation in effect.  The proposed new legislation on Notification passed the Senate 2/18/10 but failed to make it into final budget package.
Colorado HB1193 1/20/10 1/1/10 Notification

Reporting

 Requires online retailers to provide CO purchasers with a summary warning on web site and invoices and requires retailers to report this information to the state annually.  Also requires retailers with over $1 mill annual sales to send a 1099-type notice to the customer.  Retailers can avoid these requirements by collecting the sales tax. Signed into law 2/24/10.  Affiliate Marketing rules were considered but not included in the final law.
Connecticut RB5481 3/8/10 Affiliate Marketing ($2,000 threshold) Died in Committee 5/5/10
Florida SB2552 Other Proposes FL allocates money to build software requiring credit card companies to collect sales tax. Unlikely to pass.
Georgia SB512 3/17/10 Contingency Fees Authorized GA to pay contingency fees to lawyers to sue retailers to enforce collection obligations. Passed Senate 3/26/10
Illinois SB3353 Affiliate Marketing ($10,000 threshold) Bill ‘held over’.
Indiana Entity isolation Existing legislation prohibits merchants from practicing entity isolation (i.e. claiming that web operations and store operations are unrelated). Entity isolation legislation in effect.
Iowa HF2510 3/1/10 Affiliate Marketing Died in Committee 3/2/10.
Maryland SB824 Died in Committee before the end of the 2010 legislative session.
Mississippi SB2927 1/20/10 Affiliate Marketing ($0 threshold) Died in Committee 2/2/10
New Mexico HB50 1/15/10 Affiliate Marketing ($10,000 threshold) Died in Committee 5/3/10
New York 6/1/08 Affiliate Marketing ($10,000 threshold) NY reported that it generated $53 million in new use tax from the 30 companies affected by its Affiliate Marketing law. Signed into law April 2008
North Carolina 4/23/10 Affiliate Marketing Signed into law in 8/5/09.
Oklahoma HB2359 1/5/10 7/1/10 Notification Requires retailers to post a notice to OK residents on the checkout page that they may be liable for use tax, and to disclose this on the invoice. Signed into law 5/28/10.
Rhode Island 7/1/2009 Affiliate Marketing ($5,000 threshold) Signed into law 6/30/09
Tennessee SB1741, HB1947 3/19/09 Affiliate Marketing

Notification

 Died in Committee 4/20/10
Vermont HB661 1/29/10 Affiliate Marketing ($10,000 threshold) Died in Committee.
Virginia SB660 1/21/10 Affiliate Marketing ($10,000 threshold) Died in House subcommittee 2/24/10


Please Note:  The information provided on this web site is intended to stimulate discussion about sales tax issues affecting online merchants.  While we make every effort to provide accurate information, readers should refer to their own tax counsel, state and local laws and other source documents for more detail.

All of this activity at the state level should provide ample indication to our Senators and Representatives in Washington D.C. that federal action is necessary to prevent a flood of varied state-by-state laws. Urge your Senators and Representatives to ask around on the hill, and find out what is holding up introduction (and passage) the the Main Street Fairness Act!

Here at Fed-Tax.net we are eager to help all Internet merchants easily and automatically calculate and remit correct local sales tax for every jurisdiction in the United States – at zero cost to merchants. We will do this regardless of which system ultimately prevails, state-by-state affiliate taxes, or a federally authorized Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement.

Our TaxCloud service will launch later this year (watch here for our preview release announcement soon), and will demonstrate beyond any shadow of doubt that it is no longer overly burdensome (technically or financially) for remote sellers to comply with all local sales tax laws. We are building TaxCloud to activate the opinion of the Court as originally penned by Justice Stewart in 1967 (and re-affirmed in 1992) which invited congress to act once “the skill of contemporary man and his machines” has solved this problem.

UPDATE – COLORADO SB 1193 2/2/2010: Last night the Colorado House of Representatives voted (on “Shall the bill pass?”) 33 (Yes) to 32 (No). So, they PASSED SB 1193 – Here is the Current (Amended) Bill now on its way through the Colorado Senate.

UPDATE – VERMONT HB 661 Introduced 2/3/2010: Just saw that Vermont also introduced their own version of an affiliate tax late last week. Sorry we missed it.

UPDATE – Colorado SB 1193 Revised 2/8/2010 – the Colorado Senate has revised SB 1193 significantly.

UPDATE – Maryland SB 824 Introduced 2/10/2010

UPDATE – Illinois SB 3353 Introduced 2/10/2010

UPDATE – California Senate passes AB 8 2/18/2010

UPDATE – Colorado SB 1193 is now LAW – The Governor of the State of Colorado – see Emergency Regulation 39-21-112.3.5.

UPDATE OKLAHOMA HB2359 is now LAW. It requires retailers to post a notice to OK residents on the checkout page that they may be liable for use tax, and to disclose that information on any invoice sent to the customer.

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Posted by FedTax

Fed-Tax.net Names Beatrice Vaccaro to Lead Sales and Marketing

June 17, 2010

MasterCard E-Commerce Executive Joins Technology Start-up

Seattle, Washington – June 17, 2010 – Fed-Tax.net, a company that is preparing to launch web-accessible services to allow merchants to quickly and precisely determine the correct amount of local sales tax due for any transaction, today announced the appointment of Beatrice Vaccaro as Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Ms. Vaccaro brings more than 25 years of experience to the role.

“Beatrice is a fabulous addition to our team,” said R. David L. Campbell, Chief Executive Officer. “In addition to her extensive marketing background, she has significant experience with e-commerce and emerging technologies. In her most recent role she worked closely with internet retailers across the U.S. to roll out MasterCard’s Secure Code protocol. This experience is directly applicable to our efforts toward the upcoming launch of our TaxCloud service. After an extensive nationwide search, we ultimately selected Beatrice based upon her immediately relevant tactical and strategic experience. We are honored she has accepted the position, and we look forward to working with her to modernize the sales tax subsystems for every e-commerce and point-of-sale system in the country.”

Previously, Ms. Vaccaro was Vice President of E-Commerce and Emerging Technology for MasterCard International. She was part of a team responsible for new product and strategic alliance development in e-commerce. Ms. Vaccaro also worked for MasterCard in communications and product development positions. Prior to joining MasterCard, she managed marketing programs at American Express, Avis Inc., and People’s United Bank. She received her B.S. in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and her M.B.A. in marketing from New York University.

About Fed-Tax.net
The Federal Tax Authority (Fed-Tax.net) is a private company organized to enable fair and true sales tax neutrality, ensuring a “level playing field” for local businesses and remote sellers alike while simultaneously stimulating local municipalities with additional tax revenues. The company has designed a free, turnkey service that enables e-commerce retailers to easily calculate and remit voter-approved local sales taxes, as required to comply with state and local law. The service precisely determines the correct amount of sales tax due for any transaction (including state, county, city, and localized taxes). It can be easily integrated with virtually any accounting or e-commerce shopping cart system.

The company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and has a sales office in Stamford, Connecticut. For more information on Fed-Tax.net, please visit http://fed-tax.net or e-mail service@fed-tax.net.

For additional information please contact:
Erin Granville
The Federal Tax Authority (Fed-Tax.net)
egranville@fed-tax.net

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Response: “Tax and spend: Streamlining effort could raise revenues, but at the cost of jobs” on AugustaFreePress.com

June 15, 2010

There’s a great article on AugustaFreePress.com about the effect of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement on small businesses. We responded with some thoughts, particularly on how excited we are about our upcoming launch of TaxCloud which will directly affect the conversation.

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Posted by FedTax

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