The Maryland House of Delegates is considering legislation (House Bill 426) that would impose sales and use tax on digital products and sales tax on digital codes. If signed into law, Maryland would begin taxing digital products and digital codes on July 1, 2019. House Bill 426 was read for the first time in the
sales tax
Indiana Supreme Court Cites Business Purpose Requirement in Holding RV Dealership Liable for Uncollected Sales Tax
On December 5, 2018, the Indiana Supreme Court in a 3-2 split decision held that an RV dealership was liable for uncollected sales tax on RV sales even though it delivered the RVs to buyers at out-of-state locations.
The RV dealership’s protocol for transferring possession of its RVs to customers depended on the customer’s state…
Legal Alert: District of Columbia imposes Wayfair nexus standard, digital goods taxation and marketplace sales tax collection requirements
On December 31, 2018, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser signed B22-1070, the Internet Sales Tax Emergency Amendment Act of 2018 (Emergency Act). As of January 1, 2019, the District of Columbia now subjects digital goods to the 6% sales tax rate and imposes Wayfair-style economic nexus sales tax collection requirements. As of April 1,…
California Court of Appeal Affirms that Transactions Involving Out-of-State Title Transfer Are Subject to Local Use Tax, Not Local Sales Tax
The California Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court decision finding that transactions involving an Internet retailer headquartered in Brisbane, California, were subject to local use tax, rather than local sales tax, because title in the transactions at issue passed outside California. The court explained that when a retail seller delivers goods to a common…
Wind Farm Battery System Not Eligible for Manufacturing Exemption in Texas
The Texas Comptroller ruled that the purchase of a battery system did not qualify for the manufacturing exemption from Texas sales and use taxes because it was used to store electricity, not manufacture it. The taxpayer operated a wind farm and began a project to participate in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ Fast-Responding Regulation…
Shades of Gray: Comptroller Rules Online Training Courses Are Non-Taxable Services, Not Taxable Information Services
The Texas Comptroller ruled that a taxpayer, which provided education and networking services for the property management industry, was not providing “information services,” but rather a non-taxable service. Taxable information services involve “furnishing general or specialized news or other current information” or “electronic data retrieval or research.” Tex. Tax Code § 151.0101(a)(10), 151.0038; Texas Rule…
Eversheds Sutherland SALT Scoreboard Publication–Third Quarter 2018
This is the eleventh edition of the Eversheds Sutherland SALT Scoreboard, and the third edition of 2018. Each quarter, we tally the results of what we deem to be significant taxpayer wins and losses and analyze those results. This edition of the SALT Scoreboard includes a discussion of California combined reporting, insights regarding the Washington…
South Carolina Administrative Law Court Rules Prepaid Unlimited Cell Phone Service Taxable
The South Carolina Administrative Law Court ruled that the taxpayer was required to collect sales tax on its retail sales of prepaid cellular telephone service. The taxpayer argued that its sales did not constitute “prepaid wireless calling arrangements,” which must be “sold in units or dollars which decline with use in a known amount.” Because…
House Judiciary Committee Considers Ramifications of Wayfair Decision
On Tuesday, June 24, the Judiciary Committee of the US House of Representatives held a hearing on “Examining the Wayfair decision and its Ramifications for Consumers and Small Businesses.” The hearing was scheduled at the direction of Rep. Robert Goodlatte (R-VA), Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and did not address any specific pending or former…
Top New Jersey Tax Changes in the 2018 Budget Deal
In a last-minute deal to avert a government shutdown, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and the New Jersey Legislature cobbled together a budget with numerous amendments to New Jersey’s tax law.



