Avalara’s First-of-its-Kind Tax Forum to Tackle Complex Issues Surrounding Cloud Services & Digital Goods

Bainbridge Island, WA – February 5, 2014 – Avalara Inc., a leading provider of sales tax and compliance automation services in the cloud, is bringing together a host of nationally recognized experts on digital products, federal legislation, and sales and use tax compliance at Horizons 2014, a first-of-its-kind tax symposium that will address the most pressing issues facing today's digital marketplace. The conference, which qualifies for continuing professional education (CPE) credit, will be held April 30-May 2 at the Grand Hyatt in Seattle.

Horizons 2014 will feature nationally-recognized tax specialists from AT&T, Starbucks, Verizon Wireless, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Intuit, KPMG LLP and Ernst & Young, who will identify and discuss sales tax compliance challenges for accounting professionals that work in business and industry, government and public practice.

The session content is tailored specifically for chief information officers, chief financial officers and controllers; state and local tax accountants; global commerce and digital sales/software companies; CPA, accounting, legal, and sales tax consulting firms, as well as technology resellers and venture capital firms.

The conference will also include a roster of distinguished thought leaders in the area of digital goods and cloud services taxation, including:

• Sylvia Dion, Managing Member at PrietoDion Consulting Partners, LLC
• Jordan Goodman, Partner at Horwood Marcus & Berk Chartered
• Mark Houtzager, Owner of US VAT, Inc.
• Carolynn Kranz, COO at Industry Sales Tax Solutions
• Steve Kranz, Partner at McDermott Will & Emery, LLP
• Scott Peterson, Director of Governmental Affairs at Avalara
• Chris Sullivan, Tax Attorney at Rath, Young & Pignatelli, PC
• Marilyn Wethekam, Shareholder at Horwood Marcus & Berk Chartered

Headline topics will address how:

• States define digital goods and why the definitions vary between states.
• Pending state and federal legislation affects taxation of digital goods and cloud services.
• Out-of-state cloud services or digital goods sales are treated under current sales tax requirements.
• A company can get ahead of the curve on cloud and digital goods taxation.

“The taxability of cloud services and digital goods is one of the most complex issues facing accounting and tax professionals today,” said Pascal Van Dooren, EVP Sales & Marketing at Avalara. “Horizons 2014 will help attendees more competently and confidently manage this changing landscape by providing best-in-class content delivered by some of the most knowledgeable experts currently working in this field."

Accounting professionals can receive up to 11 hours of CPE credit during the conference. For a topic agenda, speaker information, location and registration information, visit salestaxhorizons.com.

About Avalara

Avalara makes sales and VAT tax compliance simple and automatic for thousands of customers every day. Its SaaS-based, sales tax and compliance automation software solutions span the compliance spectrum; each year these solutions deliver billions of tax decisions, manage millions of exemption certificates, file hundreds of thousands of sales tax returns, and remit billions of tax dollars to states nationwide.

Recognized as one of America’s fastest growing technology companies, Avalara is integrated with leading ERP and ecommerce software systems that serve millions of businesses worldwide. Founded in 2004 and privately-held, Avalara’s venture capital investors include Battery Ventures, Sageview Capital and other institutional and individual investors. Avalara employs more than 500 people at its headquarters on Bainbridge Island, WA and in offices across the U.S. and in London, England and Pune, India.