Watch Out: Use Tax is Rearing Its Ugly Head Again

In a nutshell, the New York law is giving out-of-state e-merchants until June 1 to register with the state and start collecting taxes. But it’s also left some of those in the know on tax issues scratching their heads. This nexus-expanding legislation is “an odd statutory creature to say the least,” Catalog Success’ Legal Matters columnist George Isaacson tells me. That’s because this legislation is based on an “agency nexus” theory. As Isaacson explains, the state treats out-of-state marketers as having an in-state physical presence because of the sales activity of in-state sales representatives.