Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/528834
June/July 2015 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 29 If you're a SA LT accountant, you know what I'm talking about. Laws are constantly changing at the state and local level, Congress spends a lot of time talk ing about the Market- place Fa i r ness Ac t a nd t r y i ng to f ig ure out how to get t hat i mple- mented, and sofware providers are constantly bringing out new tools to make the lives of SA LT accountants easier. Here's the latest update on what's happening in the SA LT arena. Nevada has enacted a new Com- merce Ta x . Kelly Bullis, CPA and watchdog at CarsonNow.org reports that the Commerce Ta x increases annual business license and f iling fees, ups the modifed business tax rates while allowing a deduction for 5 0 % o f t h e c o m m e r c e t a x , a nd requ i res ever y bu si ness to f i le a commerce ta x return, even where there is litle or no gross income. Texas has passed legislation to reduce its business franchise tax in an efort to entice new business to the state. Bloomberg BNA's SA LT Ta x Blog reports that this is a sig- nifcant step toward repealing the franchise tax altogether. California is taking SA LT tax to a new level, having started down the path of regulating revenue derived from sending people and things in and out of space. KPMG's Tax Watch repor t s t h at conver sat ion s h ave included defning space transporta- tion activities, at what point a space vehicle is considered to be traveling i nto space, a nd what fac tors a nd weig ht s hou ld appl y to re venue derived from space transportation a c t i v i t i e s . D i s c u s s i o n i s a l s o u nder way to add ress ta x at ion of revenue from aborted space missions. I n d i a n a a n d M i s s o u r i h a v e announce new amnesty programs. Indiana's program doesn't go into efect until the last eight weeks of 2016, so people lurk ing under the r a d a r w i l l h a v e t o h o l d o n f o r another year and a half before they can come clean without interest and pena lt y. M issour i 's amnest y pro- g ram w i l l r un f rom September 1, 2015 through November 30, 2015, and w i l l prov ide pena lt y/interest relief for payments associated with a l l t a x e s a d m i n i s t e r e d b y t h e Department of Revenue and due on or before December 31, 2014. A new program called SA LT-in- a-Box (SI B) has been released by c l o u d - b a s e d s o f t w a r e p r o v i d e r Ava la ra. SI B is a comprehensive, n o - c o s t s y s t e m t h a t e n a b l e s accou nta nts a nd book keepers to help their clients proactively identif y a nd a d d r e s s s t a t e a nd lo c a l t a x compliance issues. Specifcally, SIB prov ides accounting professionals with a single user-friendly place to a c c e s s i n d u s t r y - l e a d i n g t o o l s , information, and services enabling them to: • Know with certainty if their clients are at risk for sales tax non-compliance • Be armed with clear, detailed knowl- edge to efectively address risk when issues arise • Proactively serve as a trusted advisor on SALT-related compliance issues Avalara has also released a new p r o g r a m , R e t u r n s E x c i s e P r o , desig ned to help sma l l a nd m id- sized fuel distributors, suppliers, and ter m i n a l oper ator s i mprove t he accuracy, speed, and ease of fling bulk fuel tax returns. T here is never a dull moment in the area of state and local taxes. New Information and Tools for SALT Accountants By Gail Perry, CPA, Editor-in-Chief California is considering potential taxability factors relating to space transportation.