Jeremiah Lynch | TaxConnections

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Alabama

Back to School Sales Tax Holiday: August 2–4, 2013

State sales tax (or use tax) will not be collected on the sale/purchase of the following “covered items”: 1) articles of clothing with a sales price of $100, or less, per article of clothing; 2) a single purchase, with a sales price of $750, or less, of computers, computer software, and school computer supplies; 3) noncommercial purchases of school supplies, school art supplies, and school instructional material, up to a sales price of $50 per item; and 4) noncommercial purchases of books with a sales price of not more than $30 per book. (Ala. Code § 40-23-211; Ala. Code § 40-23-210; Ala. Admin. Code r. 810-6-3-.65). A county or municipality may, by resolution or ordinance adopted at least 30 days prior to the first full weekend of August, provide for the exemption of “covered items” from county or municipal sales or use taxes during the same time period, under the same terms, conditions, and definitions as provided for the state sales tax holiday.

Arkansas

Back to School Sales Tax Holiday: August 3–4, 2013

State and local sales tax will not be collected on the sale of 1) clothing and footwear with a sales price of less than $100 per item; 2) clothing accessories and equipment with a sales price of less than $50 per item; 3) school supplies; 4) school art supplies; and 5) school instructional materials.

Connecticut

Sales Tax Holiday: Third Sunday in August through the following Saturday (August 18–24, 2013) Read More

Written by Jeremiah Lynch | Posted in United States

On July 24, 2013, Massachusetts lawmakers voted to override Governor Deval Partick’s veto of the Commonwealth’s Transportation Finance Bill (“H.B. 3535”). As a result, the gas tax will increase by three cents per gallon; tax on cigarettes by one dollar per pack; and computer system design services and the modification, integration, enhancement, installation, or configuration of standardized software will now be subject to sales and use tax. The revenue generated from H.B. 3535, as appropriately entitled, is designed to aid Massachusetts’ transportation systems and projects. The gas and cigarette tax increases, and sales and use tax on computer services are effective July 31, 2013 (seven days from the enactment of H.B. 3535).

“Computer system design services” are the planning, consulting, or designing of computer systems that integrate computer hardware, software or communication technologies and are provided by a vendor or a third party. “Modification, integration, enhancement, installation, or configuration of standardized software” are viewed as services that modify, enable, or adapt pre-written software to meet the business or technical requirements of a particular purchaser and to operate on the purchaser’s computer systems, regardless of how those services are described or billed to the customer. These services may also be described as customization services for pre-written software.

On July 25, 2013, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue released Technical Information Release 13-10 (“TIR – 13-10”), which provides guidance for the application of sales and use tax to these newly taxed computer services. This guidance includes transition rules for existing computer services contracts, sales and use tax filing requirements, and information on sourcing rules, including Multiple Points of Use. Read More

Written by Jeremiah Lynch | Posted in State And Local Tax (SALT) • Tax Policy