By Ted Friedman and Carley Roberts

The West Virginia Office of Tax Appeals (OTA) ruled that an out-of-state corporation, with no physical location or employees in West Virginia, owed sales and use tax on sales of garage equipment in the state. The OTA determined that the corporation had nexus with West Virginia based on its purposeful utilization of persons in the state who provided leads, sales information, equipment installation, training and follow-up, coupled with the activities of an independent contractor who functioned as its sales representative in the state, because such activities established and maintained a market for the corporation in West Virginia. West Virginia Administrative Decision No. 14-081 CU (W. Va. Office of Tax Appeals Oct. 14, 2015) (released Jan. 27, 2016).