Online Retailers Beware: States Broaden the Tax Net

If your business has a collection obligation, it must evaluate its tax compliance process. Typically this is a joint effort between tax and IT professionals. Sales tax compliance can be extremely complex. Each state, and many local counties and cities, have their own laws regarding taxable and exempt sales, sales tax holidays, tax rates, and procedures for filing returns and paying the tax. While 45 states impose sales taxes, the number of unique taxing jurisdictions in the U.S. exceeds 7,500 when counties and municipalities are considered.