Articles Tagged with “Naples Sales Tax Attorney”

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The United States Constitution expressly forbids ex post facto laws with respect to both the federal and state governments.[i] An ex post facto law is one that retroactively changes the legal status and consequences of a particular action. The easiest way to understand it is in the criminal realm. Today, I ate a yogurt. Two years from now, the government passes a law saying it is a third-degree felony to eat yogurt and makes the law retroactive for a 5-year period. While eating my yogurt today was not against the law, I am still, two years later, guilty of a felony and can be punished accordingly. Fortunately, the government is not too interested in yogurt. Unfortunately, the government is very interested in tax.

In 2014, Michigan passed 2014 PA 282, a retroactive tax law replacing the elective three-factor apportionment formula from the Multistate Tax Compact to which Michigan adhered with a new single-factor apportionment formula. This may have been just another disappointment to Taxpayers, who are regularly disappointed by the creative and nefarious ways in which states try to drum up revenue. But with a retroactive application to 2008, it was just plain devastating.

It is no surprise that the state supreme court upheld the state’s interest in collecting more tax. The case challenging this law was in fact 50 consolidated cases in Gillette Commercial Operations North America & Subsidiaries et al. v. Dep’t of Treasury, No. 325258 (Mich. Ct. App. Sept. 29, 2015). The question now is: will the Supreme Court hear the case? The Department of treasury argues that the Supreme Court can’t. Rather than a retroactive law, the state argues that 2014 PA 282 is simply a clarification of the preexisting law. Therefore, under the state statutory-construction law, the Michigan state court had adequate and independent state law ground to uphold 2014 PA 282 and the Supreme Court of the United States does not have the jurisdiction to overturn it.

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Tennessee is the latest of states to jump on the economic nexus bandwagon.  In an effort to sidestep the physical presence the proposed rule would require out-of-state dealers that engage in the regular or systematic solicitation of consumers in Tennessee through any means and make sales exceeding $500,000 to Tennessee consumers during the calendar year would be considered to have substantial nexus with the state. One substantial nexus is established, the dealers would be required to register with the state and collect and remit sales and use tax.

Similar to recent rulemaking in Alabama, Tennessee does not believe its position offends the Commerce Clause. The proposed rule, may go into effect on or about November 8, 2016. It is worthy to note the rule is subject to committee review in both house of the Tennessee legislature and legislative approval is needed before a rule can become permanent.

Tennessee is not the only state attempting to combat Quill. Similarly, Alabama and South Dakota are litigating whether their economic nexus standards are sufficient to satisfy the Commerce Clause substantial nexus requirement. Earlier this year, South Dakota adopted the economic nexus for sales and use tax purposes. South Dakota is currently a plaintiff and defendant in two separate cases addressing the constitutionality of the substantial nexus law.

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State and local governments are continually searching for ways to increase revenue through taxation of online companies conducting business within their state or county. One such way is by assessing a rental tax against online travel companies (“OTCs”).

OTCs typically facilitate the rental of a hotel room for vacationers and charge a fee for their services. OTCs play a significant role in the hotel rental business by providing consumers with a variety of choices based on price, location, and other factors. OTCs also provide benefits to hotels through promotion and advertising, and providing the ability for vacationers to rent a room at a lower price. Further, OTCs increase hotel occupancy rates and promote tourism thereby creating revenue for state and counties.
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I have been writing about the taxability of the online travel companies for some time. Recently, the Florida Supreme Court case of Alachua County v. Expedia, Inc., ruled that the local bed tax should be imposed on the amount the hotel received rather than the higher amount the customer pays the Online Travel Company (“OTC”). Similarly, the Court of Appeal of Wisconsin recently held that reservation facilitation services are not among the taxable services enumerated in section 77.52(2)(a)1, Wisconsin Statutes.

In the Wisconsin case, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (“WDOR”) attempted to assess tax on any “internet service provider” that provides lodging throughout Wisconsin. The WDOR argued that the markup amount retained by the internet service provider is subject to tax under section 77.52(2)(a)1, Wisconsin Statutes.

However, the law worked very differently. Specifically, in Wisconsin, section 77.52(2)(a)1, Wisconsin Statutes, tax is only imposed on “the furnishing of rooms or lodging to transients by hotelkeepers, motel operators and other persons furnishing accommodations that are available to the public, irrespective of whether membership is required for use of the accommodations.” The crux of this case turns to the word “furnishing.” Is an online travel company “furnishing” a hotel room?

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With the every-so-exciting Florida Sales Tax Holiday (“Holiday”) running August 7th through August 16th, all Floridians must become knowledgeable so that we can maximize our savings as buyers. The Holiday does not solely apply to Parents and Students looking for their essential pencil sharpeners, the Holiday applies to all sales throughout Florida–so thrilling! Just think about all the wonderful school supplies you could stock up your office drawers this upcoming week. Like everything that seems too good to be true, this 10 day Holiday has a few rules that must be discussed. The following are the limitations for the Holiday:

• Clothing selling for $100 or less per item;
• Footwear selling for $100 or less per item;
• Certain Clothing Accessories selling for $100 or less per item;
• Certain School Supplies selling for $15 or less per item (Note – This does not include books); and
• Personal Computers and Certain Computer-Related Accessories on the first $750 of the sales price, when purchased for noncommercial home or personal use.
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In 2012, a case shook the tax world for Florida’s wholesale tobacco distributors. Specifically, a case called Micjo was decided in favor of tobacco distributors at Florida’s appellate court level. Micjo taught us that if a taxpayer disagrees with a department’s tax decision, then it should fight for its money that is not due. Since the Micjo ruling, we have been filing refunds for many other tobacco distributors and fighting tax assessments based on the appellate case. After filing several Micjo refund cases, we discovered another Micjo case in Oregon. If the taxpayer is successful then it would put another chink in the armor of the state tobacco taxing agencies.
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As the internet becomes essential to our everyday lives, states are consistently inconsistent in their attempt to tax cloud computing systems. Cloud computing is “the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer.” Essentially, the term “Cloud” is a metaphor for the internet. Cloud computing allows the user to access data over the internet without storing data on a hard drive. In fact, most internet users rely on these cloud computing systems as an essential tool in their everyday lives.

How should a cloud computing provider determine whether their object is subject to sales tax? A simple two-part test may allow a cloud computing provider a proper vantage point on whether they are subject to sales tax. First, apply a test. Second, ask whether the product is a software or a service? Think of this test as a simple flow chart.
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In just another case where the Department of Business and Profession Regulation (“DBPR”) attempts to be larger than the law, a Recommended Order was issued on May 29th, 2015, stopping DBPR in its tracks. In Thompson Cigars, Case No: 14-3471, Judge Alexander agreed with the taxpayer, that DBPR’s inspection authority is not as broad as it thought it was. However shocking it may be to DBPR, Judge Alexander agreed with the taxpayer on both counts raised in this case. The Administrative Complaint, filed by DBPR, alleges that Thompson Cigars, Respondent: (a) failed to produce records of tobacco products sold to persons or business entities in the State of Idaho, and (b) failed to submit a sworn application reflecting that two individuals, not previously disclosed, had a direct or indirect financial interest in the business.
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Over the past few years, we have been intricately involved in ongoing litigation with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (“ABT”). There still remains ongoing litigation in connection with the Micjo issue. Micjo dealt with whether non-tobacco charges, such as federal excise tax and shipping charges, are subject to Florida Other Tobacco Products Tax and the Surcharge on Other Tobacco Products (“OTP Tax”). Down another path there is current litigation in Brandy’s, which deals with cigar wraps, or blunt wraps, which are subject to Florida’s OTP Tax. Recently, however, another case was filed in late 2014 that has a far broader reach than any other case filed to date.
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Over the past few years, taxpayers throughout Florida have been in a never ending battle with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (“ABT”). At the forefront is the Micjo issue. Micjo was a case that determined that Florida wholesale tobacco tax should not apply to the full invoice. Rather, the 85% should only apply to the tobacco while charges and items such as federal excise tax and shipping should not be included in the taxable base. There are 8 pending cases throughout Florida being litigated on this issue. In addition, there are two cases in which the taxpayer has argued that blunt wraps, or cigar wraps, are not included in the tobacco products definition and, are therefore, not taxable. In Brandy’s, a taxpayer received a favorable ALJ opinion spelling out the same.

In response, ABT has attempted to change Florida law. Specifically in Senate Bill 7074, ABT is attempting to fix the Micjo opinion and change the taxable base to include the full price paid by the distributor, including the federal excise tax. The amended law will read as follows:

“Wholesale sales price” means the sum of paragraphs (a) and (b): (a) The full price paid by the distributor to acquire the tobacco products, including charges by the seller for the cost of materials, cost of labor and service, charge for transportation and delivery, the federal excise tax, and any other charges, even if the charge is listed as a separate item on the invoice paid by the established price for which a manufacturer sells a tobacco product to a distributor, exclusive of any diminution by volume or other discounts, including discount provided to a distributor by an affiliate. (b) The federal excise tax paid by the distributor on the tobacco products, if the tax is not included in the full price under paragraph (a).

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