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On February 13, 2020, the Nebraska Legislature’s Revenue Committee heard testimony on Legislative Bill 989, which would expand Nebraska’s sales tax base to include sales of digital advertisements.

After an introduction by the bill’s sponsor, Senator Justin Wayne, the Revenue Committee heard testimony from four witnesses, each opposing the bill. The Committee also received…

On January 16, 2020, the Supreme Court of Washington, in an en banc decision, held that a retailer was entitled to take bad debt deductions for sales and Business and Occupation (“B&O”) taxes when its customers defaulted on purchases made using private label credit cards.

The retailer contracted with banks to offer private label credit…

The Colorado Court of Appeals held that the City of Aurora correctly levied use tax on American Multi-Cinema, Inc.’s (AMC’s) license agreements with film distributors. The court concluded that the true object of the arrangement was to obtain tangible personal property (i.e., the data files) rather than being a nontaxable, intangible right. In the past,…

On January 30, 2020, Governor Kemp signed Georgia’s marketplace facilitator bill, H.B. 276, into law. Effective April 1, 2020, the law will require marketplace facilitators to collect and remit sales and use tax on behalf of marketplace sellers. It will apply to marketplace facilitators with sales in excess of $100,000 in the state.

A…

Over 40 state legislatures have convened their 2020 legislative sessions. Last year, states moved quickly to impose collection and remittance obligations on remote sellers and marketplace facilitators in light of Wayfair. This year, states are charting a new course – proposing legislation to expand sales taxes to include advertising services or proposing entirely new taxes…

A 2018 Arizona ballot initiative banned the imposition or increase of transaction-based taxes on services. A December 2019 ordinance in Phoenix increases the fee charged on pickups by on-demand drivers at the Phoenix airport. The ordinance was supposed to take effect February 1, 2020, but the city agreed to suspend collection as the state of…

On January 8, 2020, the Court of Appeal of Louisiana partly affirmed and partly reversed a district court’s rejection of the Louisiana Department of Revenue’s franchise tax audit changes for a taxpayer that owned and operated, through subsidiaries and an affiliate, casinos and horse-racing facilities. Following an audit, the Department made numerous adjustments to the…