California | TaxConnections

11 Jun 2018

California And Market Based Sourcing Of Revenue As Related To Income Tax Apportionment

Market-Based Sourcing of revenue for services as related to income tax apportionment purposes is becoming a trend among states. As our economy becomes more service intensive, determining how to properly source service and intangible revenue is vital to the states. According to Bloomberg BNA, California’s latest draft rules for market-based sourcing of sales of intangibles are confusing and could affect defense contractors, asset managers, and R&D service companies.

On May 18, 2018, the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) held its third Interested Parties Meeting (IPM) regarding proposed amendments to California Code Regulations, Title 18 (CCR), Section 25136-2. This section of the CA Regulations describe the provisions of market-based sourcing rules for California taxpayers.

Background

California shifted from the cost-of-performance method to the market-based sourcing method when assigning income from sales of services and intangibles, such as software. The shift came with California’s switch to elective single-sales-factor apportionment for multistate taxpayers in 2011 and mandatory single-sales-factor apportionment in 2013.

Written by Monika Miles | Posted in Multi-State Sales Tax

04 Jun 2018

What You Need To Know About California’s SB 993

Sales tax is a major revenue source for many states, including California, which is why its legislature has been looking for additional ways to collect fees under the ‘sales tax’ umbrella.

For years, State Senator Bob Hertzberg has been trying to extend the state’s reach by imposing sales tax on services. Although 2015’s Senate Bill 8 didn’t pass, there’s another bill recently heard in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee: Senate Bill 993 (SB 993).

Written by Monika Miles | Posted in California • Sales Tax • Senate Bill 993 • Tax Burden

11 May 2018

Understanding Marginal Income Tax Brackets

By any measure, the tax code is huge. According to Commerce Clearing House’s Standard Federal Tax Reporter it’s up to 74,608 pages in length.¹

And each Monday, the Internal Revenue Service publishes a 20- to 50- page bulletin about various aspects of the tax code.²

Fortunately, it’s not necessary to wade through these massive libraries to understand how income taxes work. Understanding a few key concepts may provide a solid foundation. Read More

Written by Lillian Meyers | Posted in Federal Income Tax • Income Tax • TaxConnections

10 May 2018

Top Predictions You Need To Know: Wayfair V. South Dakota Onlines Sales Tax Case

As we wait for a decision in the Wayfair v. South DakotaSupreme Court Case regarding online sales tax, we thought it would be fun to take a look at possible outcomes depending on how the Court rules.

Our Opinion On The Online Sales Tax Case

Back in March we shared our predictions on how the online sales tax case’s outcome would affect businesses.

What if the Supreme Court rules against South Dakota? We’re back where we started with Quill remaining the physical presence standard and states passing various legislation that’s either unconstitutional (and likely not upheld) or that requires onerous reporting. Read More

Written by Monika Miles | Posted in Online Sales Tax

07 May 2018

Are Virtual Currencies Taxable?

With virtual currencies like Bitcoin becoming more mainstream in recent years, we often get asked if revenue from the sale or exchange of these digital dollars is taxable. The simple answer is, YES – income (or profit) from virtual currency transactions is reportable on your income tax return. However, because this is still a relatively new phenomenon, there are a few things you should be aware of to make sure you don’t get caught with a huge tax bill!

Virtual currency, as generally defined, is a digital representation of value that functions in the same manner as a country’s traditional currency. Bitcoin is one example of a convertible virtual currency which can be digitally traded between users and purchased for, or exchanged into, U.S. dollars, Euros and other real or virtual currencies. There are currently more than 1,500 known virtual currencies. Because transactions in virtual currencies can be difficult to trace and have an inherently anonymous aspect, some taxpayers could be tempted to hide taxable income from the IRS. Read More

Written by Aaron Giles | Posted in Bitcoin • IRS • Virtual Currency

02 May 2018

A Review Of Significant TCJA Provisions Affecting Small Businesses

Now that small businesses and their owners have filed their 2017 income tax returns (or filed for an extension), it’s a good time to review some of the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that may significantly impact their taxes for 2018 and beyond. Generally, the changes apply to tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, and are permanent, unless otherwise noted.

Corporate Taxation

Replacement of graduated corporate rates ranging from 15% to 35% with a flat corporate rate of 21%
Replacement of the flat personal service corporation (PSC) rate of 35% with a flat rate of 21%
Repeal of the 20% corporate alternative minimum tax (AMT)

Written by William Rogers | Posted in Tax Cuts Jobs Act

01 May 2018

The Latest In Online Sales Tax: Wayfair Vs. South Dakota Oral Arguments

Last week the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Wayfair v. South Dakota online sales tax case. While the court’s decision regarding the matter isn’t expected until June, the Justices’ questions in the matter reveal that it’s far from already settled, and they’re divided on whether or not Quill should be overruled.

South Dakota’s Arguments Regarding Quill

South Dakota’s Attorney General Marty Jackley began his statement, Read More

Written by Monika Miles | Posted in Online Sales Tax

01 May 2018

The Truth On Accumulated Payroll Taxes

This is the absolute top of the food chain of priority cases for IRS Collection employees.

Succumbing to the temptation to use IRS as your involuntary banker is rewarded at best with steep penalties–not deductible, thank you–and interest charges that together make credit cards look like a bargain.

Prosecution is possible for severe offenders as this official Department of Justice News Release shows. In the criminal justice system, failing to turn over withholding taxes is considered just the same as embezzlement. Read More

Written by Michael Cash | Posted in IRS • Payroll Tax

24 Apr 2018

More States Impose Sales Tax On E-Commerce Sales

Over the last few decades, states have had the opportunity to broaden their income and franchise tax base by ensnaring a larger proportion of out-of-state taxpayers in their taxing regime through adoption of broad economic or factor-based economic nexus standards.

However, states have traditionally struggled to do the same with respect to their sales and use tax base because of the long-standing United States Supreme Court nexus decision in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota (1992).” 1 For nearly three decades, the dicta contained in Quill have prevented states from adopting economic-based nexus
standards with respect to sales and use taxes, requiring instead a more stringent physical presence standard (or “substantial nexus”).
The Supreme Court has repeatedly declined to hear challenges or cases related to Quill, until recently. Read More

Written by Blake Christian | Posted in E-Commerce • Sales And Use Tax

20 Apr 2018

Arkansas And Its Tax Climate

This month we travel to the southern state of Arkansas, the Natural State. It is known for its abundant parks and wilderness areas, with terrain encompassing mountains, caves, rivers and hot springs. The rugged Ozarks region in the northwest portion of the state has hiking trails and limestone caves, such as Blanchard Springs Caverns.

The state’s diverse geography varies from mountain ranges from the Ozark and the Ouachita Mountains, which make up the U.S. Interior Highlands, to the densely forested land in the south known as the Arkansas Timberlands, to the eastern lowlands along the Mississippi River and the Arkansas Delta. Read More

Written by Monika Miles | Posted in Arkansas Tax

18 Apr 2018

2018 Car And Truck Depreciation Limits Explained

For this year’s 2018 Depreciation Limits, business use vehicles offer opportunities and challenges. Claiming depreciation as a business expense for personally available vehicles is a clear advantage. As is common, a “but” is included due to special rules known as “Listed Property” attributes. These rules recognize there are both personal and business attributes associated with the same asset; the vehicle has a value to the individual and their business using the vehicle which has necessitated specific 2018 Car and Truck Depreciation Limits.

The conceptual challenge is that there are differences between a business van say, for a “Construction Person”, and the “Executive” with a new Mercedes, known as Listed Property. Read More

Written by Daniel Morris | Posted in Depreciation

18 Apr 2018

Blockchain And Corporate Taxation: Change Is Coming

While the technology can sound quite complex, a blockchain is essentially an immutable, distributed ledger. This means that instead of a single, third-party record holder, every authorized party within the blockchain holds an instantly updated record of all transactions. Blockchain maintains data integrity this way because it’s virtually impossible to alter the data of every single ledger. Any discrepancies found will be compared against every ledger and any fraudulent data found will be disregarded. Read More

Written by Scott Nelson | Posted in Bitcoin • Blockchain • Cryptocurrency