New York Upholds Taxability of Gift Card Promotions

The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division held Apple Inc. accountable for not collecting an appropriate amount of sales tax on the promotional gift cards given with certain purchases. During the back-to-school time of year, Apple gave away gift cards as a promotion for purchases of computers such as the MacBook, iMac and iPads. The gift card was given away as part of the promotion at no charge with a discounted price on the product as well. The New York Supreme Court upheld the decision of the New York Tax Appeals Tribunal affirming that Apple improperly under-collected sales tax by discounting the purchase price of products resulting in $995,000 in sales tax. (Apple Inc. v. Tax Appeals Tribunal; 2022 NY Slip Op 02459, effective April 14, 2022) 

Posted on April 27, 2022