Policy and Legislation

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On August 7, the Chicago Department of Finance delayed the effective date of the imposition of the Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax on cloud computing services from September 1, 2015, to January 1, 2016. However, the Department did not delay the effective date of the imposition of the Amusement Tax on streaming services. Chicago will…

By Mike Kerman and Timothy Gustafson

The Illinois Department of Revenue issued a General Information Letter explaining how it will apply retailers’ occupation tax (ROT) and telecommunications excise tax (TET) to videoconferencing services. The taxpayer that sought the letter acts as a broker to match customers that need videoconferencing services with affiliates that operate videoconferencing…

At the Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) Executive Committee Meeting in Spokane, Washington, the Arm’s-Length Adjustment Service (ALAS) Advisory Group provided an update on its transfer pricing effort. On May 7, 2015, the Executive Committee approved the Final Program Design for the transfer pricing program (the Program). After receiving approval from the MTC’s Executive Committee, ALAS…

Yesterday, the Multistate Tax Commission held its annual meeting in Spokane, Washington. The meeting is the annual event where full MTC member states approve model laws in their final version. The approved versions are then ready for the member states to adopt if they so choose. This year the MTC approved changes to the equitable…

Yesterday, the Multistate Tax Commission held meetings of its Litigation, Uniformity, and Strategic Planning Steering Committees. The meetings were generally dominated by discussions of evolving apportionment issues, including litigation and significant edits to existing regulations. The Uniformity Committee also advanced its new model “engaged in business” statute.

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Yesterday, the Multistate Tax Commission kicked off its annual conference and committee meetings with meetings of the Audit and Nexus Committees. The MTC’s Audit program continues to grow by adding Iowa, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Delaware to the program during the last fiscal year. The MTC Nexus Committee is responsible for administering the National Nexus…

The Multistate Tax Commission’s Annual Conference and Committee Meetings are being held on July 27-30, 2015, in Spokane, Washington. On Tuesday, July 28, 2015, at approximately 1:00 pm PDT, an MTC working group will present this model market-based sourcing regulation working draft to the MTC’s Uniformity Committee. Many on the working group consider the working…

By Charles C. Capouet and Madison J. Barnett

The Indiana Department of Revenue determined that a taxpayer’s sales of merchandise return-related services to retailers are not subject to Indiana sales and use tax. The Department addressed the taxability of three services: (1) the Merchandise Authorization Service (MAS), which utilizes the taxpayer’s proprietary database and risk-scoring…

By Evan M. Hamme and Open Weaver Banks

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance released an advisory opinion explaining how it will treat drop shipment facilitation services for sales and use tax purposes. The petitioner uses proprietary software to create an Internet-based “hub” through which a web-based merchant orders products from a…