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By Nick Kump and Amy Nogid

The Colorado Department of Revenue (Department) released a non-binding general information letter,  concluding that a marketplace provider’s payment of sales tax on transactions involving “jointly responsible” third-party retailers discharges the obligations of the third-party retailers to collect and remit sales tax. By statute, the Department has discretionary authority to…

By Chelsea Marmor and Tim Gustafson

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts issued a franchise tax letter clarifying that “total mileage” for purposes of computing the Texas special apportionment formula for transportation receipts may either include or exclude “empty miles” provided symmetry is maintained between a taxpayer’s numerator and denominator. “Empty miles,” or deadhead miles…

By Chelsea Marmor and Andrew Appleby

The Kentucky Court of Appeals held that a Kentucky statute, which retroactively reduced vendors’ 1% deduction of the sales tax collected and remitted to Kentucky to $1,500 in any monthly reporting period, did not violate the Kentucky Constitution. Wal-Mart argued that the statute violated the Kentucky Constitution because the…

By Douglas Upton and Timothy Gustafson

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance issued an Advisory Opinion concluding that a retail operator of kiosks selling various prepaid telecommunication plans and additional telecommunication rights for existing plans was subject to New York sales and use tax collection and remittance requirements, but was not subject…

By Marc Simonetti and Douglas Upton

The Louisiana Supreme Court concluded that limestone purchased for the dual purpose of absorbing sulfur during the generation of electricity and producing ash for sale to third parties was excluded from the definition of a “sale at retail” by application of the “further processing exclusion” under the Louisiana sales…

By Zack Atkins and Eric Coffill

The Alabama Tax Tribunal concluded that an out-of-state retailer was required to collect and remit use tax on the sales of books and educational materials to in-state teachers and students, and that neither the Due Process Clause nor the Commerce Clause impeded the Alabama Department of Revenue’s authority to…

By Jessica Eisenmenger and Jeffrey Friedman

The New York State Tax Appeals Tribunal sustained a determination by a Department of Taxation and Finance Administrative Law Judge that receipts obtained from the sale of retail pricing information services are subject to sales tax. Under New York law, information services are taxable, but services that are personal…

By Charles Capouet and Eric Coffill

In Private Letter Ruling ST 15-0016-PLR, the Illinois Department of Revenue explained the application of the temporary storage exemption to the imposition of use tax on the in-state storage of equipment. Illinois’ temporary storage exemption applies where the property is acquired outside Illinois and, after a temporary stay in…

By Nicole Boutros and Andrew Appleby

A federal court dismissed a class action lawsuit against Whole Foods, finding the consumers lacked standing because they could not demonstrate they purchased any of the mislabeled foods for which they claimed Whole Foods systemically overcharged. The consumers alleged that Whole Foods engaged in deceptive trade practices and had…

By Hanish Patel and Marc Simonetti

The Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) determined that the sale of certain online membership benefits—early, exclusive access to products and deals and unlimited cloud data storage—were not subject to Florida sales tax or the Communications Service Tax (CST). However, the DOR added that the taxpayer’s purchase of reorder button…