Eyes on Ecom Law

Eisenstein Argues Economic Nexus Challenge Before Ohio Supreme Court

On May 3, B&I senior partner Martin Eisenstein argued before the Ohio Supreme Court on behalf of retailers Newegg Inc., Crutchfield Inc., and The Mason Companies, in a constitutional challenge to the gross receipts nexus standard of the Ohio Commercial Activity Tax (CAT).  Eisenstein was joined by partners David Bertoni and Matthew Schaefer as co-counsel...

South Dakota Governor Signs Anti-Quill “Economic Presence” Nexus Law

On March 22, 2016, South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard signed into law SB 106, legislation that adopts an “economic presence” approach to requiring remote catalog and Internet sellers to report South Dakota sales tax. The law provides that “any seller selling tangible personal property, products transferred electronically, or services for delivery into South Dakota, who...

Quill: Rumors of Its Death Are Greatly Exaggerated

In their latest Legal Corner blog for the American Catalog Marketing Association, partners Martin Eisenstein and David Bertoni report on the multi-front efforts by states to convince the public that Quill’s physical presence requirement is no longer good law or to attack it through burdensome notice and reporting obligations.  The blog updates direct marketers on...

Uncertainty looms for EU-US data transfers, despite announcement of deal

The European Court of Justice made headlines this fall when it struck down the 15-year old “Safe Harbor” agreement that had permitted the transfer of personal data between the E.U. and companies in the U.S. On February 2, 2016, representative of the European Commission and the United States announced an agreement to replace Safe Harbor...

Voluntary Disclosure of Unclaimed Property: Some Considerations

Companies not in full compliance with state unclaimed property reporting requirements have the opportunity to participate in voluntary compliance programs that are offered by many states. These programs allow holders of unclaimed property to resolve past unclaimed property liability for a defined “lookback period,” in exchange for a state’s agreement to forgive interest and penalties....

Cuidado con el Clic: Puerto Rico’s New Value Added Tax (VAT) Includes “Click Through Nexus” and Other Affiliate Nexus Provisions

On May 29, 2015, the Governor of Puerto Rico signed into law Act No. 72, which amended the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 2011 to add provisions adopting a new value added tax (VAT) to replace the existing sales/use tax. The VAT will result in significant changes to Puerto Rico’s system of consumption taxes,...

Oregon Following in Ohio’s Footsteps?

Its being reported that the State of Oregon is considering enacting a tax modeled on Ohio’s infamous Commercial Activity Tax (the “Ohio CAT”).  “The plan,” according to reports, “would scrap Oregon’s corporate income tax system in favor of a 0.39 percent Commercial Activity Tax, or CAT, modeled after Ohio’s system. It would also cut taxes...

California Gillette Decision and Other Cases Demonstrate, Again, Why Congress Must Impose Strict Uniformity Requirements for State Taxes through Federal Legislation

The old saying cautions that “when the cat’s away, the mice will play.” When it comes to state taxation of interstate commerce, Congress is the “cat” that the Framers of the Constitution designated as the protector of our national marketplace under the Commerce Clause. The States, unfortunately, prove time and again that they are the...

Online Firearms Sales: The Song Remains The Same

If you are engaged in the business of selling firearms online must you perform background checks? The answer is still yes. This has not changed under President Obama’s recent executive actions concerning gun sales. Internet marketers of firearms have long been required to conduct background checks to sell firearms. Sales are conducted through the holders...

Native Advertising Meets the FTC

The Federal Trade Commission has published new enforcement guidelines for so-called “native advertising”. “Native advertising” looks like news, product reviews, entertainment, or other material that surrounds it online, but is in fact paid advertising. It presents challenging enforcement problems from a truth-in-advertising perspective precisely because it is not obvious to the reader that it is...