Sales taxes are imposed by all but five states. While the types of sales that are subject to tax vary significantly by state, virtually all sales tax states look to the actual consideration paid by the buyer to the seller to determine the sales price. Despite this long-standing and almost uniform measure of the sales
sales tax
Transfer pricing and its effects on state tax
By Chris Lee & Justin Brown on
Posted in Podcast
In this episode of the SALT Shaker Podcast, host and Associate Chris Lee is joined by Associate Justin Brown to discuss transfer pricing and how it affects state tax and in particular how states may use transfer pricing or other theories to make adjustments to sales tax. Recently, some jurisdictions have challenged sales tax on…
New York State Advisory Opinion Finds IT Support Services Not Subject to Sales Tax
By Eric Coffill & Annie Rothschild on
Posted in New York
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance released an advisory opinion finding the Petitioner’s fee paid for IT support services was not subject to sales and use tax because the only taxable component of the services was delivered to the Petitioner outside of New York. The Petitioner hired a New York-based company to…
SALT Policy Picks: Sales Tax Base Expansion Is Not the Answer
By Nikki Dobay on
Posted in In the News
This year, Partner Nikki Dobay launched a new column for Tax Notes entitled “SALT Policy Picks,” which provides Nikki’s reflections on state and local tax policy and legislative updates.
In one of her initial columns, Nikki argues that now is not the time for states to consider sales tax base expansion, discussing specifically that…
New York Department of Taxation finds that IT support service was not subject to sales tax
By Jonathan Feldman & Chris Lee on
Posted in Digital Economy, New York
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance issued an advisory opinion determining that the fee paid for an information technology support service was not subject to sales and use tax because the taxable component of the service was delivered outside of New York. The taxpayer provided investment advice to its customers and as…
New York Tax Department concludes online webhosting product not subject to sales tax
By Jonathan Feldman, Charles Capouet & Chris Lee on
Posted in Digital Economy, New York
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance issued an advisory opinion, concluding that a taxpayer’s charges for its online webhosting solution were not subject to sales tax. The customers pay an annual fee for their events (audio and video meetings, conferences, webinars and live presentations) to be hosted and maintained and also…
For Your Eyes Only: New York Advises that Database Service is not Subject to Sales Tax
By Ted Friedman & Chris Lee on
Posted in New York
The New York Commissioner of Taxation and Finance issued an Advisory Opinion explaining that a petitioner’s service that allows customers to access its database and run reports of the customers’ data is not subject to sales tax. The petitioner enters into agreements with customers to maintain their fleet of vehicles, and the petitioner compiles data…
South Dakota Department of Revenue issues updated Internet-related services taxation guidance
By Jonathan Feldman, Chris Lee & Charles Capouet on
Posted in Digital Economy
The South Dakota Department of Revenue issued updated guidance regarding the application of sales tax to sales of Internet access and internet-related services. In particular, the Department added “Internet e-mail services” and “web hosting” to the list of exempt Internet-related services. However, the Department removed “live chat or conferencing fees” from the list. The Department…
Can you tax me now? Alabama finds that prepaid wireless service was subject to sales tax
By Charlie Kearns & Chris Lee on
Posted in Digital Economy
Alabama considers the sale of prepaid telephone calling cards and the sale of prepaid authorization numbers not evidenced by a physical card, to be the sale of tangible personal property subject to sales tax. Specifically, Alabama statute considers the “sale of prepaid wireless service that is not evidenced by a physical card” to constitute the…
Indiana Department of Revenue rules that sales of digital coursework to universities are exempt from sales tax
Posted in Digital Economy
On October 2, 2020, the Indiana Department of Revenue issued Revenue Ruling #2019-09ST concerning the sale of digital course materials to Indiana colleges and universities, which were made available to students on the schools’ online learning management systems. The Department determined that these sales were exempt from sales tax because: (i) the course materials were…