Here you can read up on significant developments in the world of sales and use tax. Find the latest legislative updates and helpful tips to keep you in compliance across all 50 states. You can filter news items by topic and/or a jurisdiction of interest.
An e-commerce trade group’s attempt to stop California from pursuing back sales taxes from sellers with inventory housed at in-state Amazon fulfillment centers was dismissed.
The Illinois Department of Revenue has issued a private letter ruling regarding the taxation of software as a service and cloud-based remote work tools.
The Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board has released their new exemption certificate.
The Louisiana Court of Appeals determined that online travel companies do not owe local sales tax on the fees they charge to their customers.
The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration has amended their Code of Regulations to expand their partial sales and use tax exemption for research and development to include the production, storage, and distribution of electric power.
The Tennessee Department of Revenue determined in a letter ruling that some aircraft repairs are exempt from sales tax in the state.
An Alabama taxpayer that manufactures rockets requested a partial sales tax refund for tax paid on helium and nitrogen.
A New York taxpayer, an online loan marketplace, filed a petition against the Department of Revenue for a sales tax refund from the state since its primary function is not as an information services provider.
The Minnesota Department of Revenue provided updates to its fact sheet that covers Coupons, Discounts, Rewards, Rebates, and Other Forms of Payment.
The European Union had a proposed digital levy that would help fund the region’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and due to historic bond borrowing.
Effective January 1, 2022, Florida peer-to-peer car-sharing programs are subject to collecting and remitting the applicable taxes.
California now requires publishers to determine if their newspaper sales are considered mixed newspaper subscriptions due to its effect on sales tax.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed the Fiscal Year 2021 budget into law, which contains a provision for accelerated sales tax remittance.
In a private letter ruling, the Texas Comptroller clarified the sales and use tax requirements for a mobile ordering application platform where restaurants receive food orders.
The Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission provided information on what types of charges are in the “sales price” for a remote sale.
Manitoba, Canada has updated their tax rules to exclude personal services from Retail Sales Tax (RST), with the exception of tanning services.
In the US Supreme Court decision, South Dakota v. Wayfair, it was made clear that taxing sales from out-of-state sellers cannot be applied retroactively and electronic cookies do not constitute physical presence according to the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board in a recent ruling.
BNSF Railway Company is receiving a $1.25 million diesel fuel tax refund from the City of Birmingham, Alabama.
Louisiana is facing complaints from an Arizona jewelry wholesaler claiming that their sales tax system is unconstitutional due to its compliance burdens on out-of-state sellers.
The Illinois Department of Revenue ruled that a taxpayer providing software subscriptions and hardware for a bundled price is subject to the Service Occupation Tax, but not Retailers’ Occupation Tax, Use Tax, or Service Use Tax.
Iowa has a sales tax exemption for the sale of solar energy equipment which is defined as “equipment that is primarily used to collect and convert incident solar radiation into thermal, mechanical, or electrical energy or equipment that is primarily used to transform such converted solar energy to a storage point or to a point of use.”
The Iowa Department of Revenue issued guidance stating that web hosting is not taxable as a service in the state.
Puerto Rico established in January of 2021 that businesses making more than $100,000 in total gross sales or at least 200 transactions in Puerto Rico annually are required to register with the Puerto Rico Department of Treasury and collect and remit Puerto Rico sales tax.
In Notice 21-04, the Minnesota Department of Revenue added six requirements for non-profits to meet in order to be exempt from sales tax in the state.