The Evanston City Council voted on May 26, 2020 to introduce an ordinance that would extend its 5% amusement tax to reach online gaming and streaming. The Council stated that the increase is a reaction to a projected decrease in tax revenue from in-person amusement events. Given the “rise in popularity of streaming amusements, staff
Digital Economy
North Carolina Excludes Sales of Certain Digital Goods from Sales and Use Taxes
By Jonathan Feldman on
Posted in Digital Economy
On June 5, 2020, Governor Cooper signed HB 1079, which will exclude sales of certain digital audio and visual works from the state’s sales and use tax, and make other tax changes. The law exempts sales of digital educational services and the sales of digital audio or digital audiovisual works that consist of nontaxable…
Colorado Proposes a Series of Regulations to Address Digital Taxation
By Jonathan Feldman on
Posted in Digital Economy
The Colorado Department of Revenue has proposed several regulations related to taxation of digital goods, remote sales, and marketplace collection. First, it proposed a “doing-business” rule, which clarifies a person maintains a business in Colorado if the person meets the economic nexus test of $100,000 annual retail sales in Colorado. It also proposed another…
Kansas Again Fails to Pass Remote-Seller and Marketplace Facilitator Bill
By Jonathan Feldman on
Posted in Digital Economy, Marketplace
Kansas lawmakers did not take their second bite at the remote-seller and marketplace-facilitator apple during a special legislative session. On June 3, 2020, Representative Steven Johnson re-introduced HB 2014, which would have required remote sellers with $100,000 or more in annual in-state sales to collect and remit taxes and would have required marketplace facilitators…
Washington Warns Taxpayers Not to Rely on Current Remote Seller Regulations
By Jonathan Feldman on
Posted in Digital Economy
Washington has required remote sellers meeting the $100,000 annual revenue of 200 annual transaction threshold to collect and remit sales tax since October 1, 2018. The requirement was first introduced by regulation and later confirmed and clarified by statute. In a May 22 emergency regulation, the Washington Department of Revenue warned taxpayers not to…
North Carolina Legislature Approves Sales and Use Tax Exclusion for Digital Educational Services
By Jonathan Feldman on
Posted in Digital Economy
North Carolina HB 1079, providing a variety of sales tax changes, has been approved by both houses of the legislature and now awaits the Governor’s signature. In particular, the bill would exclude from sales and use tax sales of digital educational services and would exempt: (1) sales to home school operators of digital audio…
Maryland’s Digital Advertising Tax and Sales Tax Expansion Vetoed
Posted in Digital Economy
Earlier today, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan vetoed H.B. 732, which proposed a first of its kind Digital Advertising Tax. The Governor also vetoed H.B. 932, which would have expanded Maryland’s sales tax to sales of digital products (both downloads and streaming).
Unless a special session is scheduled between now and the end…
California Amends Remote Seller Regulations
By Jonathan Feldman on
Posted in California, Digital Economy
The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration announced that the state’s Office of Administrative Law has approved amendments to regulations on the state’s remote seller law. The amendments are retroactive to April 1, 2019, the effective date of the legislation.
Under the amended regulations, a remote seller that did not surpass the $500,000…
New York Bill Would Expand Sales Tax Base to Digital Advertising Services
Posted in Digital Economy, New York
On April 13, 2020, legislation (S.8166) was introduced in the New York State Senate that would expand the sales tax base to digital advertising services. “Digital advertising services” is defined as “advertisement services on a digital interface, including advertisements in the form of banner advertising, search engine advertising, interstitial advertising, and other comparable…
South Carolina Issues PLR Guidance Finding Car Rental Company Responsible for Sales Tax
By Jonathan Feldman on
Posted in Digital Economy
On March 31, the South Carolina Department of Revenue issued a private letter ruling (PLR) finding that a car rental company in the state is responsible for sales tax on short-term rentals because it qualifies as a marketplace facilitator. The DOR determined that the company was a marketplace facilitator because it operates on a website…