The State and Local Tax Buzz

Image: Groupon Webpage on Massachusetts Deals This past June, I wrote a post entitled  “ Wondering How Sales Tax Applies to a Groupon? So Are Many of The States ”.   If you’re a frequent visitor to  The State and Local Tax “Buzz” , my guess is you’ve read this post as it’s become the most popular blog post I’ve published to date. As you probably guessed from the title of that  post , the key point I highlighted is that much uncertainty has existed regarding the sales tax implications of third-party e-coupon discounts, such as those marketing and arranged by companies like Groupon and LivingSocial. Specifically, I addressed whether states allow Groupon type discounts to impact sales price in the same manner as manufacturer’s or retailer’s discounts, as well as whether the nature of the Groupon type arrangement impacts the amount subject to sales tax as these promotions are not all identical. (In some promotions a consumer purchases a specific product or service, while in othe

State Mandatory Combined Reporting!  You're probably wondering what this obscure state tax concept means and whether it impacts  your  company's state corporate taxes. Before jumping into today's discussion, here are a few questions to consider. Is your company a subsidiary or affiliate within a "controlled group" of corporations? Do any of the "controlled group" corporations do business in multiple states? Are you considering selling a majority interest in your company to another corporation which does business or in multiple states or has subsidiaries with multi-state operations? Is the prospective buyer a vendor, supplier or otherwise integrated with your corporation? Have you been advised to reorganize your corporate structure and create new legal entities? Will this reorganization involve transferring intangible assets, such as technology, trademarks or patents; to a new legal entity and having related corporations compensate each other for th

"Hot Topics in Sales & Use Tax: What is Changing? How National Sales Tax Trends and Events Impact the Northeast" "Taxing Online Transactions" "The Top Ten Relationship Killers:  Recurring Scenarios in State Tax and How to Deal with Them Effectively" "Flow-Through Entities: The Unwritten Rules" "Business Tax Reform:  Raising National Interest Toward a Value Added Tax" If these topics have peaked your interest, consider attending the Third Annual Northeast State & Local Tax Forum , to be held on November 10, 2011  at the Westford Regency Inn and Conference Center in Westford, Massachusetts , a beautiful, colonial town approximately 1 hour outside of Boston.   This one-day forum, sponsored by the New Hampshire Society of Certified Public Accountants , will feature some of the leading State & Local Tax minds from New England and the nation, including: Scott Peterson, Executive Director of the Streamlined Sales Tax Go

Following a series of events that rival the drama, suspense and negotiating seen on prime-time TV, it appears as though California’s “Amazon Law” may soon be no more!  At least temporarily, that is!  But before discussing the latest developments, let’s go back to where this drama began. If you caught my original post  on California’s “Amazon Law”, you’re probably  not  surprised by the sequence of events that have transpired as this law was destined for controversy right from the start! As if I had crystal ball, my concluding thoughts in that post were, “like a well-written soap-opera, this story is one that will go on for some time.  Don’t touch that dial – you won’t want to miss what happens next in this California “Amazon Law” story.” (See my prior post, “ California Enacts Explosive ‘Amazon Law’!  ”) And without a doubt, this drama has lived up its preview! What was it about California’s “Amazon Law” (ABX1 28) that made it prime for drama?  On one hand, California’s l