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18 July 2016 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com A YEAR IN THE LIFE: SALT ACCOUNTANT ey change when states and local ta x jurisdictions (counties, municipalities, special districts) need more tax revenue. ey change when there's a revenue surplus. ey change in response to pressure from lobbyists, public opinion, or tech- nological innovations. Sometimes, it seems, they change with the tides or the seasons. ere have been a number of red- leer changes to date in 2016, most notably with respect to state sales tax rates, eliminating exemptions, and remote sales tax laws. More are sure to follow during the second half of the year. Show me the money W ho doesn't need more revenue? Not Louisiana and South Dakota. Lawmakers in both states decided to increase their state sales ta x and use tax rates earlier this year. e Louisiana rate went up by 1% on April 1, and the South Dakota rate increased by 0.5% on June 1. ere's been talk of increasing the state rate in Oklahoma, as well, but the governor is opposed to the idea. Tax that online shopping spree Tired of waiting for federal lawmak- ers to move on the Marketplace Fairness Act, Online Sales Tax Sim- plification Act, or Remote Transac- tions Parity Act, state legislators are taking maers into their own hands. So far in 2016: • Alabama imposed new requirements for out-of-state sellers; Amazon started collecting South Carolina sales tax ( January) • A federal court determined Colorado's use tax notification requirements are legal, and Amazon began collecting Colorado sales and use tax (February) • Louisiana started taxing remote sales, and Amazon banished Louisiana residents from its Associates Program (April) • South Dakota started taxing certain remote sales (May) • Vermont made plans to penalize noncollecting remote vendors who don't comply with the state's use tax notifi- cation requirements ( June) Legal bales are already brew ing over both the A labama and South Dakota laws. More are sure to fol- low, and this is exactly what the states want: a path to the United States Supreme Court and a challenge to the status quo. Mix it up Most states (46 out of 50) start their new fiscal year on July 1. is is therefore the time that states tend to take up new policies or kiss old ones goodbye. Local sales and use tax rate changes are always numerous, as well. In 2016, rate changes reign. Local sales and use tax rate changes w ill occur in A rizona, A rkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, and West Virginia. A nnexations in Texas could also trigger tax rate changes. Other tax rate changes also take effect on July 1. ese include fuel taxes, lodgings taxes, and telecom- munications taxes: • California (fuel) • Florida (communications services) • Georgia (fuel) • Illinois (telecommunications) • Oregon (lodging) • Utah (fuel) • Wyoming (prepaid wireless) On the horizon A ny thing could happen during the second half of 2016: federal legislators could decide to vote on a remote sales tax bill; Puerto R ico could resurrect the VAT; A rizona could (again) change the way it taxes fine art sold at auctions and galleries; Louisiana could decide to repeal the suspension of some exemptions; the governor of New York could sign the bill that permanently exempts feminine hygiene products from sales tax; other cities could follow Philadelphia's lead and impose a tax on so drinks; and West Virginia could broaden or increase sales tax. is being sales tax, any number of changes could also crop up. New Fiscal Year Brings Sales Tax Changes Across the Country By Gail Cole F ollowing Churchill's logic, sales tax rates, rules and regulations must be the very embodiment of perfection. Boy, do they change. Gail Cole is a sales tax expert for Avalara with a penchant for digging through the depths of BOE sites and discovering and reporting rate changes across the country. "TO IMPROVE IS TO CHANGE; TO BE PERFECT IS TO CHANGE OFTEN." ~ WINSTON CHURCHILL