Eyes on Ecom Law

Committee Hearings Held on Remote Collection Bills; Coalition Forms to Demand True Simplification Of State Sales Tax Systems, Defend Quill

We have written previously about attempts by Congress to overturn the physical presence nexus standard of Quill Corp. v. North Dakota via the Main Street Fairness Act, the Marketplace Fairness Act, and the Marketplace Equity Act. The bills vary in their specifics as we discuss here and here, but most simply put, all three bills...

New Hampshire Does Not Tax Internet Access

Reaffirming its state’s anti-tax DNA, the New Hampshire legislature confirmed what some state tax practitioners have been arguing all along: the New Hampshire communications services tax does not apply to Internet access charges. (New Hampshire does not have a sales tax.) On June 21, 2012, the Legislature enacted a statute, 2011 NH 1418, that bars...

Is It Raining In Pennsylvania: Sales Tax on Cloud Computing Services?

I recently wrote a blog post on the new Vermont law on sales tax on cloud computing services, in which the state placed a moratorium on taxation of software as a service (“SaaS”). Pennsylvania, however, has decided to take a different approach to cloud computing. In Legal Letter Ruling No. SUT-12-001 (May 31, 2012), the...

Some Sunshine in Vermont: Sales Tax on Cloud Computing Services

I recently authored an article in State Tax Notes entitled “Let the Sunshine In: The Age of Cloud Computing”, which describes the murky area of state taxation of cloud computing services. On May 24, 2012, Vermont brought some sunshine to this cloudy area. Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed a bill that temporarily exempts charges for...

Yet Another State (Georgia) Adopts a Click-Through Nexus Law

On April 20, 2012, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed legislation revising the definition of “dealer” in the Georgia statute. Under Georgia law, a dealer is required to collect and remit sales/use tax on all taxable sales to Georgia residents. The first change to the dealer definition is to adopt a so-called “click-through nexus” law (or...

What is an “Affiliate Nexus” Statute?

Some of you may have read the headline in CCH’s State Tax Day on March 27, 2012, “Affiliate Nexus Bill Enacted,” and wondered whether this describes yet another state that provides that nexus is established by virtue of a link from a web site “affiliate” to a remote seller’s web site. The State Tax Day...

Storm Clouds on the Horizon for Direct Marketers Regarding Required Use Tax Collection

After the introduction in July 2011 of the “Main Street Fairness Act” by three senators from the Democratic Party, federal legislation intended to eliminate the Quill physical presence requirement for state sales and use tax collection has gathered increased support. A group of 10 Senators from both sides of the aisle introduced the “Marketplace Fairness...