Workiva Implementation Partner

It depends on the amount of sales and number of transactions.

Prior to 2018, a taxpayer was only required to register for sales and use taxes if it had a physical presence in the state. Generally, a physical presence was established by having people or property in the state on a regular and systematic basis. As a result, true remote sellers did not have a sales and use tax registration requirement. In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., 585 U.S, a mere economic presence was enough to establish a sales and use registration and collection responsibility. The Court did not provide guidance on the exact economic thresholds that need to be met in order to cause a registration and collection responsibility. Instead, it ruled that South Dakota’s threshold of $100,000 in annual sales or 200 individual transactions in a year was reasonable. As a result, each state has developed its own economic nexus thresholds.

Therefore, we strongly suggest working with a state & local tax expert to review these requirements on a state-by-state basis to ensure proper registration steps are taken to be in compliance.  

There are over 7,000 sets of sales and use tax laws in the country.  Some states administer their sales tax laws at the state level, with one flat rate that covers both the state and local tax obligations. Other states have allowed the local governments to administer their own local tax rates, including defining what is taxable and what is not. Every state is different as to what is taxable in terms of the purchase of tangible personal property and various services. There are exemptions in the manufacturing, pharmaceutical, agricultural, nonprofit, governmental, and construction industries that vary greatly from state to state. So, if your business sells and purchases goods and services in different jurisdictions across the country, it is important to understand not only if you have nexus in these jurisdictions, but what is taxable and what is exempt.

Depending on the state’s statutes and regulations, as well as, the materiality of the transactions, we suggest that you consider investing in a sales and use tax software tool and/or consult with a state & local tax expert to assist in navigating state specific statutes and regulations, so that you are paying taxes correctly.

Unfortunately, no.

Once you issue a check to a person or company, the funds that support the issuing of that check are no longer yours. If a vendor or person does not cash the check, you are required to attempt to reunite the rightful owner with the funds. If you are unable to locate the rightful owner, you then have to report and remit the funds to the government as unclaimed property. There are specific laws in each state that govern the steps to find the rightful owner of the check, as well as, when you are required to remit these funds over to the government for safekeeping.

Our unclaimed property experts can help with understanding these requirements and filing responsibilities.

Yes, you can.

Every jurisdiction that values real estate offers an appeals process. The appeals process and timeline varies greatly by jurisdiction. A good practice is to scrutinize every real estate assessment and carefully consider filing appeals to reduce the assessment. If you question whether your real estate assessments are overvalued, we can help to establish the correct value and, depending on the results of this analysis, represent you during the appeals process.

Yes.

Unfortunately, most business personal property tax returns are deceptively simply, which often results in companies overpaying tax. There are many things that contribute to inadvertent overpayments including reporting assets in the wrong categories and reporting assets that have been disposed of but not removed from the books. These issues can be corrected by filing amended returns and working with the taxing jurisdictions to secure refunds.

Our business personal property tax experts can help evaluate opportunities and secure refunds on your behalf. Additionally, we can help appeal current year property tax assessments on the basis of valuation arguments.