November Roundup: Sales tax laws you need to know

While you focus on your business, we stay on top of legislative and policy changes that can affect your sales tax compliance.

Take a few minutes out of the busy holiday shopping season to stay up to date on sales tax news.

Battle between Amazon and South Carolina continues.

South Carolina is still trying to make Amazon to pay millions in back sales tax on its marketplace sales — money it didn’t collect from purchasers at the time of sale. Learn more.

California goes after unregistered businesses with inventory in the state.

The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration is sending tax notices to unregistered out-of-state sellers that have inventory for sale in marketplace facilitator-owned fulfillment centers in the state. Learn more.

California provides tax relief for businesses affected by wildfires.

Several agencies in California are offering disaster tax relief for businesses affected by the devastating wildfires. Learn more.

DC updates consumer use tax filing.

As most states focus on capturing more sales tax revenue from remote sellers, the District of Columbia reminds residents of their use tax obligations. Learn more.

How to validate exempt sales of taxable goods and services.

Each state has different rules for documenting and validating exempt sales. Ready? Set? Learn more.

Illinois localities push to get the sales tax revenue they deserve.

A bill making its way through the Illinois General Assembly would allow local governments in the state to hire a third party to review sales tax disbursements from the Illinois Department of Revenue. Learn more.

Illinois strives to make sales tax sourcing rules more equitable.

Illinois relies on a mix of origin sourcing and destination sourcing to determine sales tax rates. It’s looking to come up with a more equitable system. Learn more.

Last Frontier embraces remote sales tax.

Though there’s no statewide sales tax in Alaska, more than 100 jurisdictions levy a local sales tax. Some are working together so they can all tax remote sales. Learn more.

Louisiana parish goes for the gold.

The state of Louisiana doesn’t hold marketplace facilitators responsible for tax on third-party sales. Nonetheless, tax authorities in Jefferson Parish say one marketplace should have been collecting and remitting local sales tax for its sellers for years. The courts will have to settle the matter. Learn more.

Nebraska wants remote sellers to register and collect sales tax. Really.

Economic nexus took effect in Nebraska on January 1, 2019, and a sales tax collection obligation for marketplace facilitators took effect April 1, 2019. To encourage compliance, the Nebraska Department of Revenue is making non-compliant remote sellers and marketplaces a deal that may be hard to resist. Learn more.

New York gets serious about remote sales tax collections.

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance announced recently that unregistered remote retailers with economic nexus need to register “now.” Learn more.

Ohio joins growing list of states to exempt feminine hygiene products.

Sanitary napkins, tampons, and other feminine hygiene products will soon be exempt from sales tax in the Buckeye State, as will some diaper sales. Learn more.

Tips to survive and thrive during the ongoing tariff wars.

As the trade wars continue, businesses need to plan for higher tariffs on a host of products. Learn more.

Utah looks to tax more services and increase the sales tax on food.

Lawmakers in the Beehive State are looking to broaden sales tax to a host of services and increase the sales tax rate for food for home consumption. They’d also eliminate a variety of exemptions. An exemption for feminine hygiene products is also on the table. Learn more.

Automating sales tax compliance can help businesses of all sizes keep compliant with changing sales tax laws. Learn more.