DOCSLIB.ORG

The Current State of Sales Tax on Digital Products

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Current State of Sales Tax on Digital Products REPORT 08.07.19 The Current State of Sales Tax on Digital Products Joyce Beebe, Ph.D., Fellow, Center for Public Finance Recent technological advancements have of motion. This category includes movies, transformed how people conduct their music videos, news shows, entertainment daily activities. These changes are not programs, and recorded live events. The only affecting how people live and work, SSTGB documents specify that video greeting but they are also redefining how people cards and video games are not included. entertain and learn. Today, it is common Digital audio works are the products resulting to remotely access files stored in Dropbox, from the recording of musical, spoken, or read e-books downloaded on Kindle, watch other kinds of sounds. These include songs, TV shows streamed from Netflix or Hulu, music, audiobooks, speeches, ringtones, and and listen to music through Spotify. These other sound recordings. Audio greeting cards technological developments are making sent by e-mail are not part of this category. state tax authorities assess the taxability of digital products. This report reviews the Digital books are works that are generally current landscape of state sales tax on recognized in the usual sense as “books.” digital products, court cases, administrative This category includes novel-length works of actions, congressional proposals, and fiction and nonfiction, as well as short stories. However, it does not include chat rooms, potential future developments in the There is no universally taxation of digital products. blogs, periodicals, magazines, newspapers, or other news or information products. recognized definition of digital products. The WHAT ARE DIGITAL PRODUCTS? WHAT ABOUT SOFTWARE? most commonly cited Before discussing the taxation of digital definition comes from products, it is first important to understand The SSUTA considers computer software as two publications by the a separate category from digital products,5 what constitutes one. At present, there Streamlined Sales Tax is no universally recognized definition of which is partly why certain states treat digital products. The most commonly cited transactions involving software differently Governing Board. definition comes from two publications by from those involving digital products. In the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board addition, the SSUTA specifically designates (SSTGB),1 a multistate effort to simplify sales “prewritten computer software” as a type and use tax collection and administration.2 of “tangible personal property.” Prewritten According to the Streamline Sales and Use Tax computer software, in contrast to custom Agreement (SSUTA)3 and the SSTGB’s rules software, is generally canned or off- and procedures, “specified digital products” the-shelf computer software that is not include digital audiovisual works, digital audio developed for a specific buyer. By identifying works, and digital books. prewritten computer software as tangible personal property, the SSUTA categorizes it Digital audiovisual works are series of related as a type of personal property that “can be images that, when shown in succession with seen, weighed, measured, felt, or touched, accompanying sounds, impart an impression BAKER INSTITUTE REPORT // 08.07.19 or that is in any other manner perceptible capabilities.14 Examples of the SaaS delivery to the senses.”6 This designation has model include web-based email services, significant tax implications. calendars, and digital photo applications. States generally impose sales tax on Taxation of SaaS is the most commonly transactions involving tangible personal addressed service model by individual property, whereas custom software is states due to its popularity and ease of use. viewed as a service and only 10 states tax it.7 However, the tax treatments vary between However, the SSUTA allows member states states. For example, Texas views SaaS as to exempt prewritten computer software taxable data processing service but allows delivered electronically from sales tax.8 As a 20% of revenue to be exempted from tax; result, 45 states and Washington, D.C., tax the New York views SaaS transactions as sales transfer of prewritten software if it is loaded on of prewritten software that are therefore a CD (which makes it “tangible”).9 However, taxable as sales of tangible personal property; 12 states exempt electronically delivered and Wisconsin does not consider SaaS as a software from sales tax, leaving 33 states and taxable data processing service.15 Washington, D.C., that tax prewritten software Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) providers 10 that is delivered electronically. offer customers computing resources so they Although classifying canned software as can run software applications and operating tangible personal property, or taxing software systems. IaaS providers enable customers to purchases when something tangible changes outsource the equipment needed to support hands, seem like simple rules, the story does the cloud infrastructure. While consumers not stop here. The recent proliferation of Although cloud do not manage or control the underlying cloud computing imposes new challenges on infrastructure, they do have control over the computing services the taxability of software. operating systems, storage, and applications. continue to expand, They may also have limited control of select networking components (e.g., firewalls).16 states have been slow CLOUD COMPUTING AND SALES TAX in addressing how Examples of the IaaS model include web hosting and remote storage services. sales taxes apply to In simple terms, cloud accessibility can roughly be thought of as the internet.11 As A recent Iowa Department of Revenue the different service long as users have access to a computer ruling provides an example of IaaS. Iowa delivery models. with an internet connection, they can use recently passed rules to impose taxes cloud-based software. A cloud service on digital goods and certain services, 17 provider, such as Amazon Web Services, effective January 2019. Amazon requested Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure, essentially clarification regarding whether its Amazon hosts software applications on remote Elastic Compute Cloud Service (EC2) is servers where they store and process data.12 subject to tax under the new rules. The There are three distinct service delivery ruling indicated that Amazon’s EC2 supplies models for cloud computing; however, as storage space and processing power on technology and business models evolve, a network that allows customers to run cloud service providers could integrate software, applications, and operating elements from all three models.13 Although systems. Thus, the EC2 is classified as IaaS 18 cloud computing services continue to and is not taxable. expand, states have been slow in addressing In New York, IaaS is also a nontaxable how sales taxes apply to the different service. However, some practitioners service delivery models, as described below. describe this as counterintuitive because New York classifies SaaS (remotely Software as a Service (SaaS) providers accessed software) as tangible personal offer customers the ability to use property that is taxable, but views software applications running on a cloud IaaS (remotely accessed hardware that infrastructure. Customers generally do not resembles something tangible) as a manage or control the underlying cloud nontaxable service.19 infrastructure, including the network, servers, operating systems, storage, or application 2 THE CURRENT STATE OF SALES TAX ON DIGITAL PRODUCTS Platform as a Service (PaaS) providers Similar to the lag in taxing cloud offer customers hardware and software to computing, state tax laws are behind launch their own applications on the cloud when it comes to taxing digital products. infrastructure. Consumers do not manage or Furthermore, many digital products do not control the underlying cloud infrastructure, fit into current tax rules because the rules but they do have control over the deployed existed long before the digital economy. applications and possibly the configuration States are aware of this issue but have settings for the application-hosting reacted differently, which contributes to the environment.20 For example, developers can lack of uniformity across the U.S. Some states Many digital products use a PaaS platform to create applications have not provided any guidance on taxing do not fit into current and games using programming languages, digital products, others have attempted to tax rules because the tools, and computing power supplied by a root digital product taxability in the existing rules existed long cloud service provider. The taxability of PaaS tax codes or reinterpret current laws to before the digital is less clear than for SaaS or IaaS. apply to digital products, and still others have amended their tax laws to cover these economy. States are products. Among these approaches, states aware of this issue THE CURRENT LANDSCAPE OF STATE that explicitly adopt legislation to tax certain but have reacted TAX ON DIGITAL PRODUCTS products and services have been subject to differently, which less resistance and fewer legal challenges by If the SSUTA were the sole agreement merchants or consumers.28 contributes to the lack adopted nationwide, taxing digital products Despite the complex tax treatment of of uniformity across would be more straightforward. However, digital products, it is undeniable that the the SSUTA currently has only 24 member the U.S. digital economy continues to encompass
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Chfh Partners Wayfair.Pdf
    Send a release Search Advanced Search Become a member Member sign in Products & Services News Releases For journalists For bloggers Global sites Products & Services Knowledge Center Browse News Releases Contact PR Newswire See more news releases in Furniture and Furnishings | Home Improvement | Construction & Building | Corporate Social Responsibility Wayfair.com Partners with New Jersey Habitat for Humanity Affiliates to Assist Communities Devastated by Hurricane Sandy Donates $50,000 in Home Furnishings to Habitat ReStore Resale Outlets in Asbury Park and Toms River BOSTON, Feb. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Wayfair.com, an online retailer of home furnishings, More by this Source today announced a donation to two New Jersey Habitat for Humanity affiliates to directly assist communities devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Earlier this month, Wayfair.com delivered more than Wayfair.com $50,000 worth of home furnishings and decor to Habitat ReStore resale outlets in coastal New Jersey. Funds from the sale of the Simplifies Shopping products at Coastal Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Asbury Park and Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Toms River for Home will directly support disaster response efforts and home re-builds in the region. Apr 08, 2013, 13:48 ET (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130206/NE55105LOGO ) Wayfair.com "We are delighted to contribute to the re-building efforts in coastal New Jersey where so many people are still in need of safe and Announces Executive affordable housing," said Niraj Shah , CEO and co-founder of Wayfair.com. "Wayfair.com strongly supports Habitat's mission and it Promotions is our hope that by donating home furnishings directly to Restores in the region, we will be able to help people get back on their Mar 25, 2013, 10:30 ET feet following Hurricane Sandy." Wayfair.com Coastal Habitat in Asbury Park and Northern Ocean Habitat in Toms River have been working to address both the short-term and Integrates Flash Deals long-term need for safe and decent housing in the New Jersey communities impacted by Hurricane Sandy.
    [Show full text]
  • The Data Behind Netflix's Q3 Beat Earnings
    The Data Behind Netflix’s Q3 Beat Earnings What Happened -- Earnings per share: $1.47 vs. $1.04 expected -- International paid subscriber additions: 6.26 million vs. 6.05 million expected -- Stock price surged more than 8% in extended trading Grow your mobile business 2 Apptopia’s data was a strong leading indicator of new growth -- Netflix increased new installs of its mobile app 8.4% YOY and 13.5% QOQ. -- New international installs of Netflix are up 11.3% YOY and 17.3% QOQ. -- New domestic installs of Netflix are down 3.6% YOY and 8.3% QOQ. Grow your mobile business 3 Other Indicators of Netflix’s Q3 2019 performance Netflix Domestic Growth YoY Netflix Global Growth YoY Q3 2018 - 19 Q3 2018 - 19 Netflix +6.4% Netflix +21.4% Reported: Paid Reported: Paid Subscribers Subscribers Apptopia +7.2% Apptopia +15.1% Estimate: Time Estimate: Time Spent In App Spent In App Apptopia +7.7% Apptopia +16% Estimate: Mobile Estimate: Mobile App Sessions App Sessions Grow your mobile business Other Indicators of Netflix’s Q3 2019 performance -- Netflix reported adding 517k domestic paid subscriber vs. 802k expected -- Its growth this quarter clearly came from international markets -- More specifically, according to Apptopia, it came from Vietnam, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Japan Grow your mobile business We’ve Got You Covered Coverage includes 10+ global stock exchanges and more than 3,000 tickers. Restaurants & Food Travel Internet & Media Retail CHIPOTLE MEXICAN CRACKER BARREL ALASKA AIR GROUP AMERICAN AIRLINES COMCAST DISH NETWORK ALIBABA GROUP AMBEST BUY
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 8: Exemptions and Exclusions
    Contents Chapter 8: Exemptions and Exclusions ........................................................................................... 87 Exempt Sales of Services ............................................................................................................... 87 1. Medical, Dental, and Allied Health Services ................................................................... 88 2. Legal Services ..................................................................................................................... 89 3. Educational Services .......................................................................................................... 89 4. Services Rendered by Nonprofit Membership Organizations ..................................... 91 5. Domestic Services Provided in Private Households ...................................................... 91 6. Nonprofit Educational and Research Agencies.............................................................. 92 7. Services by Religious and Charitable Organizations ..................................................... 92 8. Accounting, Auditing, and Bookkeeping Services .......................................................... 93 9. Public Utilities ..................................................................................................................... 93 10. Banking and Related Functions ................................................................................... 95 11. Insurance Services .......................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Itep Guide to Fair State and Local Taxes: About Iii
    THE GUIDE TO Fair State and Local Taxes 2011 Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy 1616 P Street, NW, Suite 201, Washington, DC 20036 | 202-299-1066 | www.itepnet.org | [email protected] THE ITEP GUIDE TO FAIR STATE AND LOCAL TAXES: ABOUT III About the Guide The ITEP Guide to Fair State and Local Taxes is designed to provide a basic overview of the most important issues in state and local tax policy, in simple and straightforward language. The Guide is also available to read or download on ITEP’s website at www.itepnet.org. The web version of the Guide includes a series of appendices for each chapter with regularly updated state-by-state data on selected state and local tax policies. Additionally, ITEP has published a series of policy briefs that provide supplementary information to the topics discussed in the Guide. These briefs are also available on ITEP’s website. The Guide is the result of the diligent work of many ITEP staffers. Those primarily responsible for the guide are Carl Davis, Kelly Davis, Matthew Gardner, Jeff McLynch, and Meg Wiehe. The Guide also benefitted from the valuable feedback of researchers and advocates around the nation. Special thanks to Michael Mazerov at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. About ITEP Founded in 1980, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization, based in Washington, DC, that focuses on federal and state tax policy. ITEP’s mission is to inform policymakers and the public of the effects of current and proposed tax policies on tax fairness, government budgets, and sound economic policy.
    [Show full text]
  • Gerald Dingee, Et Al. V. Wayfair, Inc., Et Al. 15-CV-06941-First Amended
    Case 1:15-cv-06941-DLC Document 21 Filed 01/11/16 Page 1 of 26 THE ROSEN LAW FIRM, P.A. Phillip Kim, Esq. (PK 9384) Laurence M. Rosen, Esq. (LR 5733) 275 Madison Avenue, 34th Floor New York, New York 10016 Telephone: (212) 686-1060 Fax: (212) 202-3827 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK GERALD DINGEE and MICHAEL LAMP No. 1:15-cv-6941 (TPG) Individually and on Behalf of all Others Similarly Situated, FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT Plaintiff, JURY TRIAL DEMANDED v. WAYFAIR INC., NIRAJ SHAH, and MICHAEL FLEISHER, Defendants. Lead Plaintiff Gerald Dingee and named plaintiff Michael Lamp (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) by and through their undersigned attorneys, allege the following upon information and belief, except as to those allegations concerning Plaintiffs, which are alleged upon personal knowledge. Plaintiffs’ information and belief are based upon, among other things, counsel’s investigation, which includes, without limitation: (a) a review and analysis of regulatory filings made by Wayfair Inc. (“Wayfair” or the “Company”) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”); (b) a review and analysis of press releases, conference calls, and media reports issued by and disseminated by Wayfair; (c) a review of other publicly 1 Case 1:15-cv-06941-DLC Document 21 Filed 01/11/16 Page 2 of 26 available information concerning Wayfair; (d) a review of public statements by Overstock.com, Inc. (“Overstock”); and (e) interviews with witnesses. Plaintiffs believe that further substantial evidentiary support will exist for the allegations set forth herein after a reasonable opportunity for discovery.
    [Show full text]
  • Wayfair: Marketplaces and Foreign Vendors
    Maurer School of Law: Indiana University Digital Repository @ Maurer Law Articles by Maurer Faculty Faculty Scholarship 2018 Wayfair: Marketplaces and Foreign Vendors David Gamage Indiana University Maurer School of Law, [email protected] Adam Thimmesch University of Nebraska - Lincoln Darien Shanske University of California, Davis Follow this and additional works at: https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/facpub Part of the Taxation-Federal Commons, and the Taxation-State and Local Commons Recommended Citation Gamage, David; Thimmesch, Adam; and Shanske, Darien, "Wayfair: Marketplaces and Foreign Vendors" (2018). Articles by Maurer Faculty. 2722. https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/facpub/2722 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Articles by Maurer Faculty by an authorized administrator of Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ACADEMIC PERSPECTIVES ON SALT state tax notes® Wayfair: Marketplaces and Foreign Vendors by Adam Thimmesch, Darien Shanske, and David Gamage decision and to analyze key questions it has raised.2 In this article, we consider issues regarding marketplaces such as Amazon.com and eBay and foreign vendors. We conclude that state governments should apply their new nexus standards to the major marketplaces and should not let fears about in-state citizens shifting to purchasing from foreign vendors stand in the way of efforts to apply more inclusive nexus standards to out-of-state vendors. Marketplaces Adam Thimmesch is Wayfair is already ushering in a new regime a professor at the for interstate sales and use tax transactions University of Nebraska wherein state governments should be able to College of Law; Darien successfully tax most transactions between in- Shanske is a professor state citizens and out-of-state vendors.
    [Show full text]
  • Internet Tax Freedom Act Expiration
    GIL 1-14-2 Sales and Use Tax: Internet Tax Freedom Act Expiration This guidance document is advisory in nature but is binding on the Nebraska Department of Revenue (Department) until amended. A guidance document does not include internal procedural documents that only affect the internal operations of the Department and does not impose additional requirements or penalties on regulated parties or include confidential information or rules and regulations made in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. If you believe that this guidance document imposes additional requirements or penalties on regulated parties, you may request a review of the document. This guidance document may change with updated information or added examples. The Department recommends you do not print this document. Instead, sign up for the subscription service at revenue.nebraska.gov to get updates on your topics of interest. August 22, 2014 Dear XXXX: This correspondence is in response to your August 8, 2014 letter regarding the Internet Tax Freedom Act. Based upon the nature of your request, we are providing this General Information Letter (GIL). This GIL will be published on the Nebraska Department of Revenue’s (Department) website with all identifying taxpayer information redacted. GILs address general questions, provide analysis of issues, and direct taxpayers to the Nebraska statutes, Department regulations, revenue rulings, or other sources of information to help answer a question. A GIL is a statement of current Department policy, and taxpayers may rely on the Department to follow the principles or procedures described in a GIL until it is rescinded or superseded. You may also find current regulations, revenue rulings, information guides, taxpayer rulings, and other GILs at revenue.nebraska.gov that may be helpful to you.
    [Show full text]
  • States Consider Digital Taxes Amidst Conflicting Rationales
    States Consider Digital Taxes Amidst Conflicting Rationales FISCAL Jared Walczak FACT Vice President of State Projects No. 763 May 2021 Key Findings · Digital advertising, social media, and data tax proposals have been introduced in nine states following enactment of Maryland’s digital advertising tax, which has since been postponed a year due to administrative and legal challenges. · Motivations for these taxes vary, from misperceptions that there is currently a tax loophole to a belief that technology and social media companies merit an extra layer of taxation, either because of their large profits or as a response to their content moderation policies. · These taxes are administratively complex, constitutionally dubious, and likely violative of the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act. · Much of the cost of these taxes will be borne by in-state companies and individuals. · Lawmakers should be extremely cautious about using taxation to target specific industries over disagreements about those industries’ policies or practices and should reflect on the justifications for these taxes. The Tax Foundation is the nation’s leading independent tax policy research organization. Since 1937, our research, analysis, and experts have informed smarter tax policy at the federal, state, and global levels. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. ©2021 Tax Foundation Distributed under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC 4.0 Editor, Rachel Shuster Designer, Dan Carvajal Tax Foundation 1325 G Street, NW, Suite 950 Washington, DC 20005 202.464.6200 taxfoundation.org TAX FOUNDATION | 2 Introduction Across the country, policymakers of both parties have developed a strong interest in taxing large technology companies through digital advertising taxes, social media taxes, and data taxes.
    [Show full text]
  • E-Commerce: Recent Developments in State Taxation of Online Sales
    ISSUE BRIEF 07.13.17 E-Commerce: Recent Developments in State Taxation of Online Sales Joyce Beebe, Ph.D., Fellow in Public Finance Online retail giant Amazon recently identified by OECD, e-commerce is defined announced that it would voluntarily start broadly as “the sale or purchase of goods collecting sales taxes in four additional or services, conducted over computer states—Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, and New networks by methods specifically designed Mexico—making the company a nationwide for the purpose of receiving or placing state sales tax collector.1 This marks the orders.”4 If further segregating it by sales culmination of an interesting evolution of channels, there are business-to-business company policy, because until recently, (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), and Amazon was one of the fiercest opponents consumer-to-consumer (C2C) models of of online sales tax.2 Some observers have e-commerce. Despite the public’s familiarity suggested that this signifies a change in with B2C or C2C models, B2B is the largest Amazon’s business model over the last among the three in terms of total sales. few years. Its early success was partly Widespread access to the internet attributable to keeping online purchases tax contributes significantly to the growth of free; however, in recent years, Amazon has e-commerce. Other factors, such as the distinguished itself by offering faster and development of technically sophisticated expedited deliveries through services such online platforms and the proliferation of as Amazon Prime and Amazon Prime Air. mobile devices, further enhance buyers’ A 2015 estimate shows that, on average, online purchasing experiences.5 According Amazon Prime shoppers spent about $700 to the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Taxation in the Cyber Age: the Future of Wayfair
    Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review Volume 39 Number 3 Article 3 Spring 5-11-2019 Taxation in the Cyber Age: The Future of Wayfair Hasmik Hmayakyan LMU Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/elr Part of the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Commons, and the Tax Law Commons Recommended Citation Hasmik Hmayakyan, Taxation in the Cyber Age: The Future of Wayfair, 39 Loy. L.A. Ent. L. Rev. 285 (2019). Available at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/elr/vol39/iss3/3 This Notes and Comments is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Reviews at Digital Commons @ Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HMAYAKYAN (DO NOT DELETE) 5/11/2019 11:06 AM TAXATION IN THE CYBER AGE: THE FUTURE OF WAYFAIR Hasmik Hmayakyan This Comment aims to act as a guiding source for potential issues that will arise from South Dakota v. Wayfair, which was decided in August 2018. The Wayfair decision changed the long-held requirement that states can only collect sales taxes from sellers that have a physical presence within the state. Under Complete Auto Transit, Inc. v. Brady, the Supreme Court put forth a test that states must meet if they wish to collect a sales tax from sellers. One of the prongs of this test allows a state to collect a sales tax from a seller if the seller has created a substantial nexus within the state.
    [Show full text]
  • Nebraska's Tax Modernization Committee
    REPORT TO THE Balancing the Scales: LEGISLATURE: LR155 – A Comprehensive Review of Nebraska’s State-Local Revenue NEBRASKA’S TAX System MODERNIZATION COMMITTEE (2013) 0 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Acknowledgements, Overview and Executive Summary a) Members of the Committee b) Acknowledgments c) Overview i. LR155 Requirements ii. Tax Modernization Committee - Structure and Process iii. Public Meetings and Public Hearings d) Executive Summary II. Overview of Nebraska’s Tax System a) Characteristics of a Balanced and Moderate State and Local Revenue System i. Balance ii. Revenue Diversification iii. Tax Fairness iv. Stability and Moderation v. State Fiscal Equalization vi. Political Accountability vii. Property Tax Equity viii. Tax Competitiveness III. Observations and Findings a) Property Tax i. History ii. Building the Base iii. Review and Comparison iv. Findings b) Income Taxes i. Nebraska’s Individual Income Tax: Building the Base ii. The Syracuse and Burling Studies iii. Review and Comparison iv. Social Security and Other Retirement Income v. Nebraska’s Corporate Income Tax: Building the Base i vi. Review and Comparison vii. Findings c) Sales and Use Taxes i. Building the Base ii. Review and Comparison iii. Sales Taxes and the Internet iv. Findings IV. Recommendations and Items for Further Study a) Property Tax b) Income Tax c) Sales and Use Tax V. Appendix ii TAX MODERNIZATION COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Sen. Galen Hadley, Kearney, District 37 – Chair Chair, Revenue Committee Sen. Paul Schumacher, Columbus, District 22 – Vice-Chair Vice-Chair, Revenue Committee Sen. Kate Sullivan, Cedar Rapids, District 41 Chair, Education Committee; Revenue Committee Sen. Heath Mello, Omaha, District 5 Chair, Appropriations Committee Sen.
    [Show full text]
  • Wayfair: Its Implications and Missed Opportunities
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Washington University St. Louis: Open Scholarship Washington University Journal of Law & Policy Volume 58 Current Issues in State Tax Symposium 2019 Wayfair: Its Implications and Missed Opportunities Richard D. Pomp Alva P. Loiselle Professor of Law, University of Connecticut Law School Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_journal_law_policy Part of the Taxation-Federal Commons, Taxation-State and Local Commons, and the Tax Law Commons Recommended Citation Richard D. Pomp, Wayfair: Its Implications and Missed Opportunities, 58 WASH. U. J. L. & POL’Y 001 (2019), https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_journal_law_policy/vol58/iss1/7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington University Journal of Law & Policy by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Wayfair: Its Implications and Missed Opportunities Professor Richard D. Pomp* INTRODUCTION This Article has its roots in a lone concurrence by Justice Kennedy in Direct Marketing Ass’n v. Brohl,1 a concurrence having nothing to do with the merits of that case. Nonetheless, that concurrence went viral, leading to the most important sales tax case in over a quarter-century: South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc.2 Because of the cataclysmic impact of Kennedy’s concurrence and its preview of the issues in this Article, it is worth quoting at length: Almost half a century ago, this Court determined that, under its Commerce Clause jurisprudence, States cannot require a business to collect use taxes—which are the equivalent of sales taxes for out-of- state purchases—if the business does not have a physical presence in the State.
    [Show full text]