Louisiana Legislature Passes Amnesty Program
The Louisiana Legislature has passed an amnesty bill that, if enacted, would require the Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR) to create a tax amnesty program applicable to all taxes it administers, with the exception of motor fuel taxes and penalties for failure to submit information reports. The bill established three periods during which the amnesty would take place, the specific dates of which would be determined by the LDR: a period of at least two months’ duration occurring before December 31, 2013; a period of at least one month occurring between July 1 and December 31, 2014; and a period of at least one month occurring between July 1 and December 31, 2015.
Claimant Denied Three-Factor Apportionment Formula in Texas
An administrative law judge (ALJ) upheld a ruling by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (Comptroller) that a taxpayer was not entitled to use an alternative three-factor apportionment formula under Article IV of the Multistate Tax Compact for determining its liability under the Texas franchise tax. Tex. Tx. Code Ann. Section 171.016(a) provides that a taxable entity’s liability is to be apportioned by a single-factor fraction. Despite being a full member of the Multistate Tax Commission, Texas has refused to allow taxpayers to use the three-factor apportionment method set forth under Article IV of the Multistate Tax Compact. In previous rulings, Texas has taken the position that the three-factor method is inapplicable because the Texas franchise tax is not an income tax. The ALJ’s ruling cited Texas law as controlling, but ultimately did not address any issues raised by the taxpayer.
Non-Florida Vendors Selling to Florida Residents are Safe—For Now
By: Javier Siervo
Florida legislation that would have expanded the definition of a “mail order sale” has died in the Florida House Appropriations Committee. The legislation attempted to specifically include “Internet” sales within Florida’s definition of “mail order sales.” It also sought to impose a sales-tax collection and remittance obligation on out-of-state vendors that enter into agreements where a person within Florida directly or indirectly refers customers for a commission or other type of payment.
Imposing a collection and remittance obligation on an out-of-state Internet vendor in the manner described above is commonly referred to as “click-through nexus” or “affiliate nexus.” The tax usually applies to sales that originate from links placed on the websites of independent partners that have physical presence nexus within the taxing jurisdiction. The obligation is imposed on the out-of-state vendor even though the vendor does not have a physical presence within the taxing jurisdiction.
