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James R. Dumler, CPA

About James R. Dumler, CPA

James graduated with honors with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management with a concentration in accounting, and has completed the California Board of Equalization’s training program. James currently specializes in California and multi-state sales and use tax matters including, but not limited to the hospitality, medical, high-tech, eCommerce, and automobile industries. James is the founder and manager of McClellan Davis’ vehicle, vessel and aircraft exemption program. Email James

Are Tips Subject to Sales Tax in California?

Fotolia_38665300_S_Coffee with tipIf you’re a restaurant owner that’s been through a California sales tax audit, you probably asked the auditor the above question at some point during the process. The answer you probably received was, “It depends,” or, “Sometimes.” If you’re lucky, you didn’t get further clarification in the form of an audit bill for tax on your employees’ tips.

The underlying principle is deceptively simple: if the amounts of your tips are optional (left up to the customers), and all of the tips are actually distributed to your employees, the tips are […]

Medicinal Marijuana: Taxable or Exempt? – At SalesTaxSupport.com

logo-v2This month, James R. Dumler, a senior sales tax specialist at McClellan Davis and featured contributor at Sales Tax Support writes about sales tax on medical and recreational marijuana. Sales Tax Support publishes articles written by experts and thought leaders in the specialized field of sales and use tax with small and medium sized business owners in mind.

Visit salestaxsupport.com to read James’informative article “Medicinal Marijuana: Taxable or Exempt?”

Statewide Compliance and Outreach (SCOP)

Statewide Compliance and Outreach (SCOP) So, you’ve been contacted, either in person or by letter, by the California Board of Equalization’s, Statewide Compliance and Outreach Program (SCOP)…what do you do now? Well, let me provide you with some background information before we answer that question.

Statewide Compliance Outreach Program CautionFirst, let me discuss what the unit is supposed to be doing. The mission of SCOP, at least in theory, is one that’s beneficial to taxpayers. In short, they are supposed to be educating business owners on their sales/use/property tax responsibilities. In a business […]

Thinking of Purchasing an Aircraft…Read this First!

If you are one of the fortunate California residents that have the means and wherewithal to purchase your own private aircraft, you need to make sure and finish reading this article before you sign on the dotted line.

With tax rates at historic levels in California (over 10% in some jurisdictions) the amount of use tax owed on your new ‘bird’ may be a six-figure sum. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to legally avoid paying use tax on that transaction? Well in California, while the options to eliminate your tax burden have been significantly narrowed from previous […]