online retailers Archives

News of Wayfair Decision Breaks during Tax in the City® New York

By McDermott Will & Emery on Jun 28, 2018
Posted In Constitutional Issues, False Claims Act, Federal Tax, Nationwide Importance, Nexus, Sales Tax, South Dakota

The first New York meeting of McDermott’s Tax in the City® initiative in 2018 coincided with the June 21 issuance of the US Supreme Court’s (SCOTUS) highly anticipated Wayfair decision. Just before our meeting, SCOTUS issued its opinion determining that remote sellers that do not have a physical presence in a state can be required to collect sales tax on sales to customers in that state. McDermott SALT partner Diann Smith relayed the decision and its impact on online retailers to a captivated audience. Click here to read McDermott’s insight about the decision. The event also featured a CLE/CPE presentation on the ethical considerations relative to tax reform by Kristen Hazel, Jane May and Maureen O’Brien, followed by a roundtable discussion on recent tax reform insights led by Britt Haxton, Sandra McGill, Kathleen Quinn and Diann Smith. Below are a few takeaways from last week’s Tax in the City® New York: Supreme Court Update: Wayfair – Jurisdiction to Tax –...

You’re Invited: COST, Bloomberg Tax and McDermott Will & Emery to Host Post-Oral Argument Roundtable Discussion

By McDermott Will & Emery on Mar 13, 2018
Posted In Constitutional Issues, Nationwide Importance, Nexus, Sales Tax, South Dakota, Transaction Taxes

On Tuesday, April 17, 2018, at 10:00 am (EST) the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., a state tax case poised to reconsider the dormant Commerce Clause physical presence standard upheld by the Court on stare decisis grounds in the historic mail-order case Quill Corp. v. North Dakota (U.S. 1992), which was litigated by McDermott Will & Emery. The Court is expected to consider whether a 2016 South Dakota law imposing sales and use tax collection obligations on online retailers–and other sellers–with no physical presence in the state is permissible given, among other things, the advances in technology and e-commerce since Quill was decided. For those that would like to attend the South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. oral argument as a member of the public (as opposed to as a member of the US Supreme Court Bar), the Supreme Court Police give out 100–150 numbered tickets between 7:00 am–7:30 am. The doors to the...

South Dakota Petitions US Supreme Court for Opportunity to Overturn Quill

By Diann Smith, Eric Carstens and Stephen P. Kranz on Oct 3, 2017
Posted In Constitutional Issues, Nationwide Importance, Nexus, Sales Tax, South Dakota, Transaction Taxes

On October 2, 2017, the State of South Dakota (State) filed its petition for a writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court (Court). A copy of the cert petition is available here and the case, South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. et al., is expected to be docketed on October 3, 2017. The State is asking the Court to overturn its physical presence standard used to determine whether an entity has substantial nexus under the dormant Commerce Clause. This comes only a few weeks after the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled against the State in favor of the online retailer defendants, citing the Court’s physical presence standard upheld in Quill on stare decisis grounds. Practice Note This development comes as no surprise to the state and local tax community, and begins what is likely to be one of the most closely watched cert petitions in years. Going forward, the online retailers have three options: (1) acquiesce that the Court should grant cert; (2) waive...

BREAKING NEWS: US Supreme Court Denies Cert in Direct Marketing Association v. Brohl

By McDermott Will & Emery, Eric Carstens and Stephen P. Kranz on Dec 12, 2016
Posted In Alabama, Colorado, Constitutional Issues, Nationwide Importance, Nexus, Ohio, Sales Tax, South Dakota, Tennessee, Transaction Taxes

This morning, the US Supreme Court announced that it denied certiorari in Direct Marketing Association v. Brohl, which was on appeal from the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. The denied petitions were filed this fall by both the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and Colorado, with the Colorado cross-petition explicitly asking the Court to broadly reconsider Quill. In light of this, many viewed this case a potential vehicle to judicially overturn the Quill physical presence standard. Practice Note: Going forward, the Tenth Circuit decision upholding the constitutionality of Colorado’s notice and reporting law stands, and is binding in the Tenth Circuit (which includes Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Kansas and Oklahoma as well). While this development puts an end to this particular kill-Quill movement, there are a number of other challenges in the pipeline that continue to move forward. In particular, the Ohio Supreme Court recently decided that the...

Breaking News: Tennessee Submits Proposed Economic Nexus Regulation for Publication

By Eric Carstens, McDermott Will & Emery and Stephen P. Kranz on Jun 16, 2016
Posted In Constitutional Issues, Nationwide Importance, Nexus, Sales Tax, Tennessee, Transaction Taxes

Earlier today, the Tennessee Department of Revenue (DOR) submitted a new sales and use tax regulation for publication titled “Out-of-State Dealers” (Rule 1320-06-01-.129) that would administratively create an economic nexus threshold. With the submission, Tennessee becomes the most recent addition to the growing list of states seeking to directly attack the Quill physical presence standard. As detailed in our prior blog, both Alabama and South Dakota are already litigating whether their economic nexus standards are sufficient to satisfy the dormant commerce clause substantial nexus requirement. Additionally, at least 11 different bills in eight different states have been introduced in state legislatures so far in 2016. With states continuing to attack Quill from all angles, remote sellers are scrambling to keep up with the increasingly volatile nexus landscape. The Proposed Regulation The proposed regulation provides that “[o]ut-of-state dealers who engage...

Lame-Duck Congress Mulls Laws to Ease State Tax Headaches

By Arthur R. Rosen on Dec 8, 2014
Posted In Constitutional Issues, Income Tax, Nationwide Importance, Nexus, Sales Tax, Transaction Taxes

As it heads into the final weeks of its session, Congress is considering various bills that would restrict or expand states’ taxing authority. Almost every business in the country would be affected by at least some of these bills. While some of these bills have progressed further than others, any could become law—particularly if bundled into legislation that Congress must, as a practical and political matter, pass before the session ends. Businesses thus have an opportunity to ask their Senators and Representatives to take action to rein in some of the problems with state and local taxes. Read the full article on CFO.com.

News of Wayfair Decision Breaks during Tax in the City® New York

You’re Invited: COST, Bloomberg Tax and McDermott Will & Emery to Host Post-Oral Argument Roundtable Discussion

South Dakota Petitions US Supreme Court for Opportunity to Overturn Quill

BREAKING NEWS: US Supreme Court Denies Cert in Direct Marketing Association v. Brohl

Breaking News: Tennessee Submits Proposed Economic Nexus Regulation for Publication

Lame-Duck Congress Mulls Laws to Ease State Tax Headaches

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