Shaking things up in state and local tax
Shaking things up in state and local tax
The Tennessee Chancery Court for the Twentieth Judicial District held that software licenses are intangible property and thus the gross receipts from their sale are not subject to tax under Tennessee’s Business Tax Act.
The taxpayer is a software company engaged in the business of selling and licensing software used for various corporate and back…
In Letter Ruling 22-02 (publicly released last week), the Tennessee Department of Revenue ruled that fees a marketplace facilitator charges for connecting buyers and sellers and processing payments are not subject to sales tax. The taxpayer in the ruling was a “delivery network company” under Tennessee law. It connects third-party sellers of tangible personal property…
The Tennessee Department of Revenue ruled recently that an information technology company’s platform product was subject to Tennessee sales and use tax. The platform was used to support a decision-making process.
The platform was hosted on Taxpayer or third-party servers, and users accessed the platform from their employer’s electronic software system. The platform was highly…
The Tennessee Department of Revenue posted sales tax letter ruling number 21-08 on October 12, 2021 (issued August 2021) in which the Department determined that an online cloud-based platform’s charges to commercial freight transportation brokers and carriers were not subject to sales tax. The platform offers two cloud-based remote access services, one of which allows…
The Tennessee Department of Revenue recently published Letter Ruling No. 21-05 (dated April 28, 2021) determining that an online marketplace was not a marketplace facilitator responsible for sales tax collection because it did not process payments. The taxpayer is creating an online platform that allows a network of independent dealers across the country to make…
The Tennessee Department of Revenue posted Revenue Ruling #20-13 regarding whether a taxpayer is a marketplace facilitator subject to sales and use tax collection on sales made on its platform. The taxpayer in this ruling operates an online forum that connects retailers (mostly restaurants) with independent delivery persons. The definition of a marketplace facilitator in…
In Notice 20-20, the Tennessee Department of Revenue addressed the implementation of S.B. 1778, which will require marketplace facilitators to collect and remit local occupancy taxes levied on short-term rental units beginning January 1, 2021. Marketplace facilitators must collect and remit the Tourist Accommodation Tax, the Hotel Occupancy Tax, and similar local occupancy taxes…
A recent letter ruling from the Tennessee Department of Revenue concludes that the ownership of mortgages backed by Tennessee property was insufficient to subject a foreign investment fund (“Fund”) to the state’s franchise and excise taxes.
Tennessee broadly applies its franchise and excise tax to the extent permitted by the U.S. and state constitutions. A…
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…
