Once Again, California’s Sales Tax Administrators Try to Avoid Transparency
Most organizations, whether private or public, would prefer to avoid transparency. At best, allowing the public to review internal policies, procedures, and self-justification is tedious and time-consuming. At worst (from the organization’s viewpoint), transparency can shine a light on incompetence, faulty reasoning, unjustifiable processes, and, occasionally, outright corruption.
The agencies administering California’s sales and use tax program have shown a particular distaste for transparency. For decades the original agency, the California State Board of Equalization (BOE), refused to disclose the cases and documents underlying its regulatory interpretations, until it finally was forced to do […]
On May 24, 2016, Jesse McClellan, Esq., Managing Partner, testified before the Members of the Board of Equalization at the California Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights Hearings regarding two issues that have been historically problematic for taxpayers. The first issue addressed pertained to the Board’s practice of permitting the Business Tax and Fees Department (Department) and/or the Legal Appeals Division (Appeals) to remove cases from the board hearing calendar without any meaningful reason or timetable. The second issue pertained to the lack of review for Administrative Protest denials.
and use tax nexus is a very fluid and evolving area of tax law, and although Congress has historically been considered to be the sole gatekeeper to change, states have recently become emboldened in their efforts to unilaterally lower nexus barriers. For example, on March 22, 2016, South Dakota passed S.B. 106 which effectively establishes an economic nexus standard. The law requires remote sellers to register and collect use tax on its sales into South Dakota if its sales into the state exceed $100,000 […]
I commonly work with clients that have nexus questions. These days those questions often involve some of the more technical aspects of nexus, such as affiliate or click-through nexus. But, even where I’m addressing some of the more technical aspects of sales and use tax nexus, I always try to make sure our clients understand where it all started, which is the subject of this article. Having a clear understanding of the genesis of sales and use tax nexus, will better enable you to address fact-specific nexus questions that relate to your […]
The case involved an audit of a California based manufacturer of ink and related products used in the textile industry. The Board’s auditor disallowed numerous claimed exempt sales for resale for a variety of different reasons. Most of the disallowed transactions were resolved prior to the hearing, but the audit […]