Senate Bill 430, effective upon publication in the Kansas Register, conforms Kansas provisions with the recent changes to the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax (SST) Agreement. Specifically, the legislation replaces provisions governing direct mail sourcing with and without a direct pay permit with provisions governing advertising and promotional direct mail and other direct mail. S.B. 430 defines advertising and promotional direct mail as printed material that meets the definition of direct mail for which the primary purpose is to attract public attention to a product, person, business or organization, or to attempt to sell, popularize, or secure financial support for a product, person, business, or organization. A purchaser of advertising or promotional direct mail can provide the seller with 1) a direct pay permit; 2) an exemption certificate or other statement approved, authorized, or accepted by the secretary claiming direct mail; or 3) information showing the jurisdiction to which the advertising and promotional direct mail is to be delivered to recipients. Other direct mail has also been updated by S.B. 430 to be defined as any direct mail that is not advertising and promotional direct mail, regardless of whether such advertising and promotional direct mail is included in the same mailing. A purchaser of other direct mail may provide the seller with 1) a direct pay permit, or 2) an exemption certificate, or other statement approved, authorized, or accepted by the secretary claiming direct mail.
The legislation has also made amendments to various other provisions, including exemption certificates and rate changes. Specifically, if a seller obtains an exemption certificate, the certificate must claim an exemption that was authorized pursuant to Kansas law on the date of the transaction in the jurisdiction where the transaction is legally sourced, must be applicable to the item being purchased, and must be reasonable for the purchaser’s type of business. For rate change provisions, S.B. 430 includes that whenever there is less than 30 days between the effective date of any retailer’s sales tax or compensating use tax rate change and the date that the rate change takes effect, a seller is relieved from liability for failing to collect tax at the changed rate if 1) the seller collected tax at the immediately proceeding rate; and 2) if the seller’s failure to collect at the new rate does not extend beyond the 30 days after the effective date of the rate change. Additional rules and regulations apply. (S.B. 430, Laws 2010, effective upon publication in the Kansas Register)