Author Archive

For many of us, retirement may seem far down the road or it may be looming around the corner. I, for one, am not ready for retirement in many ways. But I have realized, as I have watched my parents deal with a variety of challenges in their recent retirements, things are more complex than I thought. Our quality of living might depend on where we live as much as how much we are receiving from qualified retirement accounts and social security.
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After handing Amazon a bill for back-sales taxes owed, Texas lawmakers are now taking a step back. Although the bill is not explicitly written for Amazon, the American-Statesman states that critics called the action a “Hail Mary pass” for “Amazon in its dispute with Texas over whether it should have to collect sales taxes on Texas transactions.”
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A little known fact about sales tax collection is that states generally allow businesses who collect and remit sales tax on their behalf to retain a portion of the sales taxes collected to help relieve their burden. This reimbursement for their trouble is rarely discussed during the latest arguments over collection of sales taxes and may be at risk with some states. In most states, vendor compensation is only granted if the payment of sales tax occurs on time.
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In today’s society there are lots of health options. Traditional medicine has not always had all the answers. I had a physician once acknowledge to me that doctors only understand about less than 10% of the brain. That began my journey to learn more about holistic options for healthy living. Kind of an oxymoron, huh? What other options are there for healthy living but natural ones??

My journey began 20 years ago. I admit the journey has been slow—I only developed a great appreciation of “heal thyself” over the past 7-10 years when I began to commit to regular massage therapy to deal with muscular pain originating from sitting in a car long hours, prior car accidents and sitting at a computer for lengthy periods of time. I found that taking breaks and walks didn’t help as much as I’d hoped. I made the commitment to regular massage therapy every 6 weeks for 4 years.
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In the current sales tax environment, more attention is being given to sales tax exemptions, their validity and appropriate use. According to The State, South Carolina’s Homepage, a recent lawsuit against the state is challenging sales tax exemptions. The law firm of “Lewis and Harpootlian said Monday the latest suit has merit because the number of exemptions has increased, and because of the fact the state now exempts more than it collects.” Lewis is quoted as saying, “The holes are eating the cheese.”

The State identified that $2.7 billion is collected in exemptions each year in the state of South Carolina, while only $2.19 billion is collected in annual sales tax revenue. “Of that amount, 4 percent goes to the state’s general fund, 1 percent to education, and 1 percent to property tax relief for homeowners.” That means for every exemption given, less money is available for educational purposes and to relieve homeowners of property tax burdens.
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This just in from PR Newswire (May 3, 2011)―“Pennsylvania Losing Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Each Year.” Are they losing or did they just find hundreds of millions of dollars they could be collecting in sales tax revenue?

The Pennsylvania Alliance for Main Street Fairness recently released a study titled, “The Impact of Not Collecting Sales and Use Taxes from Internet Sales into Pennsylvania.” The study reiterates the basics of sales tax, reminding us that you pay tax to a retailer with a physical presence (nexus) in the state but an out-of-state retailer is not obligated by law to collect and remit sales tax to your state of residence. Residents are required, on their own integrity, to report purchases made with out-of-state retailers and pay appropriate taxes to the state of residence—this is referred to as a use tax.

According to the study, Pennsylvania could be collecting from $246 Million to $398 Million in additional sales tax revenue if they were able to require out-of-state retailers, specifically Internet retailers with no nexus in the state, to collect and remit sales tax to the state for purchases shipped to Pennsylvania.  In addition to the amount that could potentially be collected, benefits would include increased purchasing by residents from retailers within the state, which would result in an increase of jobs, increasing employment rates and increasing how many individuals would be purchasing consumable goods. This flow down could continue to even more positive benefits for the state and its residents, if calculations are correct.

More than one retailer within a state has declared that Internet sales hurts their business even if the prices are the exact same for an item—the opportunity to pay no sales tax, shipping aside, is very attractive to consumers. Should an Internet retailer offer “super free shipping,” then it is perhaps a no-brainer to purchase online in order to avoid the additional 6-10% in sales tax.

Pattie Diggin, owner of a retail store in Pennsylvania confirms this concern, quoted by PR Newswire as saying, “Today’s customer is always looking for some type of savings or discount, which I offer when appropriate.  I wish I could mark down my sales on a regular basis by an additional 6%, but I can’t and it’s a financial burden that is completely unfair.” She goes on to express that “…the easiest and most sensible way…” for the playing field to be leveled regarding sales tax “…is for remote vendors to collect and remit the tax at time of purchase.”

Remove this roadblock to fair commerce and all vendors are on a similar playing field of how to source products in order to bring in the best products for the most reasonable prices—whether they choose to do online sales or foot the bill for a brick and mortar location. With even the big retail locations such as Barnes and Noble and Borders struggling with the electronic age, closing down brick and mortar locations and fighting to find ways to survive, it can only be an even greater struggle for small to medium sized businesses in today’s economy.

About the Author: Susan McLain has over 15 years experience in technical and marketing writing, graphic design, business development and marketing management. She currently works for Avalara, Inc., a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company providing automated solutions for sales and use tax compliance for businesses of all sizes. The AvaTax family of products provide accurate, to the rooftop sales tax calculation, automated exemption certificate management and seamless filing, reporting and remittance of sales tax liability.

The Missouri Jobs and Prosperity Act targets removal of corporate and bank franchise taxes, elimination of income tax and greater flexibility for increases in sales tax to make up the difference.

Stalled for the moment, the “…Missouri Jobs and Prosperity Act…phases out the state individual income tax and replaces the corporate income tax, corporation franchise and bank franchise taxes, and state sales and use tax with a sales tax of up to 7% on retail sales of new tangible personal property and taxable services,” according to the Summary of the Committee Version of the Bill. Read the rest of this entry »

Coined the “Amazon law,” many lawmakers in numerous states are moving forward to strive to enact laws that empower their states to require e-commerce businesses to collect and remit state sales taxes from residents of their state.

According to the Connecticut Mirror the “…Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee voted 38-14…to adopt a measure commonly referred to as the ‘Amazon Law’ and patterned after legislation enacted in New York three years ago.”
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Foo—the place between the possible and the impossible—a place you can only access where streets corners don’t line up. A place that is a bit uneven. Enter the state of Nebraska’s need to meet the requirements of federally mandated sewer improvements with bills over $1 billion.

Mayor Jim Suttle regurgitated a previously suggested idea to tax toilet paper at the federal level to help pay the bill. This most recent dive into the fantastic realm that allows governments to hope, imagine and dream is called the “toilet paper tax.”

Although this kind of proposal isn’t new—a similar measure was brought before the House in 2009—it does painfully bring to the forefront that there are very little places for states and government to go in order to bring in additional funds to pay for what we consider basic services.
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The Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement (SSUTA) is an agreement created for states to “…assist states as they administer a simpler and more uniform sales and use tax system.” Each state has the opportunity to adopt the SSUTA and join the current 23 member states. Who will be next?

On April 7, the Massachusetts State Legislature’s Joint Committee on Revenue met and received testimony supporting H.B. 1695, a bill currently being considered that would allow Massachusetts to join the SSUTA. According to the ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers), this “…is a critical step in leveling the playing field between community-based retailers and online retailers. As a member state, Massachusetts would be positioned to collect sales tax from remote sellers once Congress passes enabling legislation, known as the Main Street Fairness Act.”
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