On August 25, California’s Department of Tax and Fee Administration released a discussion paper and proposed amended regulations to clarify when marketplace facilitators are considered the retailer with regard to drop shipment transactions. The CDTFA is accepting written comments and will hold a virtual hearing on the proposal on September 15.
Digital Economy
South Carolina Reminds Marketplace Facilitators of Responsibility for COVID-19 Surcharges
South Carolina Information Letter No. 20-23 clarified that COVID-19-related surcharges, takeout charges, and the like are subject to sales tax. The information letter, released August 5, “remind[ed]” taxpayers that the 6% sales tax applies to “gross proceeds of sales,” which includes all value that comes from the sale of tangible personal property, such as restaurant…
Virginia Issues Draft Sports Betting Regulations
On August 10, the Virginia Lottery released full draft sports betting regulations for public comment. The regulations will implement H.B. 896/S.B. 384, signed into law on April 22 as Chapter 1218. The proposed regulations concern operations, internal controls, and enforcement. The Virginia Lottery Board will accept public comments regarding the regulations through September 9.…
Ohio Updates Sourcing Guidance for Marketplace Facilitators
Late last month, the Ohio Department of Taxation updated its existing sourcing bulletin to provide that marketplace facilitator sales into the state are sourced for sales and use tax purposes at the location where a consumer receives an order or service. The change allows marketplace facilitators to apply the same destination-based sourcing rules to both…
Tennessee Requires Marketplace Facilitators to Collect Occupancy Taxes
On July 22, the Tennessee Governor signed into law S.B. 1778, which requires short-term rental unit marketplace facilitators to collect and remit local occupancy tax. The bill, as amended, defines “short-term rental unit marketplace” to mean any person or entity that provides a platform for compensation, through which a third party offers to rent a…
Marketplace Laws: Implementing a Multistate Compliance Strategy
In this episode we discuss the top ten issues that should be considered when evaluating and implementing marketplace collection laws. It is excerpted from the third in our series of webcasts on marketplaces. In the prior two webcasts, we talked about marketplace collection legislative changes in the first one and the marketplace litigation cases and…
The Nation’s Capital Goes [M]Ad: D.C. Council Reverses Course, Considers Eliminating Proposed Advertising Tax
During the July 21st Legislative Meeting, the D.C. Council voted to postpone consideration of the Fiscal Year 2021 Local Budget Act of 2020 (“LBA”) (which establishes the expenditures of D.C. revenue) to Thursday, July 23rd at 12:30 p.m. Prior to that meeting, the D.C. budget office will attempt to trim $18.4 million from the LBA,…
DC Council Poised for Budget Vote Tomorrow that Relies on the Expansion of Sales Tax to Sales of Advertising Services and Personal Information
In what could best be described as a “tax on talking,” the DC Council will vote on a budget tomorrow that relies on revenue from expanding the sales tax to advertising services and personal information. The rate is generally 3%, but could rise to 7.25% for certain taxpayers.
The legislation quickly moved through the Council…
Webcast: What you need to know about DC’s proposed tax on advertising services and personal information – July 22, 3 PM ET
The DC Council is considering a new sales tax on advertising services, including digital advertising services, and personal information.
On July 6, the DC Council released the Committee Print of the Fiscal Year 2021 Budget Support Act of 2020, which includes a sales tax expansion to those services beginning October 1, 2020 at the reduced…
Rhode Island Governor Signs SSUTA Legislation
On June 24, the Rhode Island Governor signed into law S2650 Substitute A, which clarifies the state’s sales taxation of cloud computing and streaming digital products to comply with the Streamlined Sales & Use Tax Agreement. The bill amends the definition of a taxable sale to include any license, lease, or rental of prewritten…



