FedTax.net announces the launch of TaxCloud, a free, web-scale sales tax calculation engine designed to support all internet merchants. The Main Street Fairness Act, introduced the same day, would require all internet merchants to collect sales tax.
Seattle, Washington – July 2, 2010 – The Federal Tax Authority (FedTax.net), a private company that is committed to making it easy for online merchants to collect sales tax, today announced the launch of its TaxCloud™ sales tax calculation and remittance service. TaxCloud is free and easy to use, and it can be integrated with virtually any accounting or e-commerce shopping cart system. TaxCloud calculates the sales tax due on any purchase in any tax jurisdiction in the nation and stands ready to assist merchants with meeting the requirements of HR 5660, commonly referred to as the Main Street Fairness Act, which is now pending before Congress.
FedTax.net has been designated a Certified Service Provider (CSP) by the Governing Board of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement. The CSP designation means that TaxCloud meets rigorous standards for sales tax calculation. Merchants who sign up with TaxCloud can instantly calculate the local sales tax due on any internet transaction for over 13,000 tax jurisdictions.
The Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement (SSUTA) is the result of the cooperative efforts of 44 states, the District of Columbia, local governments, and the business community to simplify sales and use tax collection and administration. The agreement minimizes costs and administrative burdens for retailers that collect sales tax, particularly retailers operating in multiple states. It encourages internet and mail order retailers to collect tax on sales to customers living in the SSUTA member states. It also aims to level the playing field, so that local brick-and-mortar stores and remote sellers operate under the same sales tax rules.
TaxCloud can perform all of a merchant’s sales and use tax functions, (except the merchant’s obligation to remit tax on its own purchases). Each member state and associate member state has certified the accuracy of the TaxCloud service. TaxCloud automatically monitors tax codes and incorporates any changes—so all TaxCloud merchants maintain compliance with all local sales tax laws with zero effort. TaxCloud also generates reports and automatically files state-by-state Simplified Electronic Returns for the merchant. In addition, merchants who use TaxCloud will qualify for amnesty from the SSUTA member states for failing to collect sales tax in the past.
“Achieving Certified Service Provider status is a great accomplishment for FedTax.net,” said R. David L. Campbell, Chief Executive Officer. “Our company was founded specifically to offer online merchants a free and easy way to accurately calculate and remit voter-approved state and local sales tax. The introduction of this legislation by Congressman Delahunt is an important step towards the equitable collection of sales taxes, while simultaneously providing local municipalities with much-needed revenues.”
TaxCloud takes advantage of an extensive cloud computing infrastructure. “By using cloud computing, we were able to build a massively scalable, highly available, and secure service at a much lower cost, which allows us to offer our service free to our customers. We designed our system from the ground up to be easy to use by businesses of any size, even those with no dedicated IT departments,” noted Paul Onnen, Chief Technical Officer and Chief Information Security Officer.
Now that all the work involved in achieving CSP designation has been completed, FedTax.net is moving into the next phase of the company’s mission: To modernize the sales tax subsystems for every e-commerce and point-of-sale system in the country.
About FedTax.net
The Federal Tax Authority (FedTax.net) is a private company that is committed to making it easy for online merchants to collect sales tax. FedTax.net was founded by technology veterans with extensive experience in the large-scale development, deployment, and support of internet-based services in environments with extremely high transaction volumes and financially sensitive information. The management team has been directly involved in building some of the most recognizable brands in e-commerce, including Google, Microsoft and Expedia.
FedTax.net has been designated a Certified Service Provider by the Governing Board of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement. The company’s TaxCloud service enables e-commerce retailers to easily calculate and remit voter-approved local sales taxes across the country. TaxCloud precisely determines the correct amount of sales tax due for any transaction, including state, county, city, and localized taxes. It is free and easy to use, and it can be easily integrated into virtually any accounting or e-commerce shopping cart system.
FedTax.net is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and has an office in Stamford, Connecticut. For more information on FedTax.net, please visit http://FedTax.net or e-mail service@FedTax.net.
For additional information please contact:
Beatrice Vaccaro
The Federal Tax Authority (FedTax.net)
bvaccaro@FedTax.net
(206) 452-1686
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There was a press conference in Washington DC today about The Main Street Fairness Act, a bill introduced by Congressman Bill Delahunt (D-MA) on July 1, 2010. The bill aims to help states retrieve billions of lost sales tax revenues that are currently owed but go uncollected on remote (online and catalog) sales. Rep. Delahunt was joined by South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds (R-SD), Former Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives Chris Rants (R-IA), state leaders and small business owners. Here is the Press Release on Rep. Delahunt’s website. Coverage of the press conference is included in this Washington Post Article.
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