Thursday, April 19, 2012

Nutty Rules: Georgia and the DAR

Rebels Firing Cannon / ca. 1776

I did a "Taxing Policies" webinar for Georgia today.  While putting the finishing touches on my research, I took note of their rules for non-profit organizations.  Georgia is one of those states that doesn't have a broad exemption for non-profit organizations.  In fact, they only have exemptions for a handful of groups.   But one of those few is the Daughters of the American Revolution.  Now, I've looked at Georgia's rules many times before, but it hit me this time because the wife of a friend just became a "daughter."

Here are the questions that leap to mind.  First, how can they justify this treatment?  They don't have a similar exemption for the Sons of the American Revolution!  Which sounds vaguely discriminatory.  And why in the hell (oops, we're talking about the DAR here) -  I'll start over.  Why in the heck would they give an exemption for the DAR when they don't even exempt the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts?!?  Seems...tacky.

Hmmmm.  I'll just let these float out there as rhetorical questions.  Because I'm absolutely sure there's a perfectly valid reason.

Nothing to see here.  Move along.



The Sales Tax Guy
http://salestaxguy.blogspot.com

See the disclaimer - this is for education only.  Research these issues thoroughly before making decisions.  Remember: there are details that haven't been discussed, and every state is different.  Here's more information

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Friday, April 13, 2012

Great Article: Best Practices in Transaction Tax Systems Implementation

"Uh, where do I plug in my Ipod?"

from Diane Yetter and yettertax.com

This is a VERY detailed road map to implementing a sales tax system.  It's been my experience over the years that people don't really plan these things.  Read this before you begin the process.  It's long, but detailed.  And it'll help assure you only have to do this once.  Enjoy the article

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Link: Avalara Sales Tax Poll

Hey, Haircuts Here!Avalara is doing a poll on how your state should generate revenue.  There are various options and it's easy.  And if you give your email address you could win a gift card (gosh, I hope I win).  And, heck, I was able to squeeze in an internal link to the tax treatment of gift cards.  It doesn't get much better than that!




The Sales Tax Guy
http://salestaxguy.blogspot.com

Don't forget our upcoming seminars and webinars.
http://www.salestax-usetax.com/
Picture note: the image above is hosted on Flickr. If you'd like to see more, click on the photo.  And yeah, I know it's a different kind of pole/poll, but I don't get to use that picture very often.

Monday, April 09, 2012

Quick Tip: Sales Tax Holidays

Easter Tulips Version II've cleaned up a collection of stories on sales tax holidays for your enjoyment. 

The Sales Tax Guy
http://salestaxguy.blogspot.com

Don't forget our upcoming seminars and webinars.
http://www.salestax-usetax.com/
Picture note: the image above is hosted on Flickr. If you'd like to see more, click on the photo. 

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Great Article: Solving the Pains of Sales Tax Returns

Hand-wringing

from Avalara

A pretty good overview of why you may wish to get rid of doing sales tax returns.  This whitepaper covers the challenges of doing them yourselves, and the benefits of outsourcing.  Yes, there's a page on Avalara, but the rest of the piece is "sales-free."  Enjoy the article.



This link is part of a series called "Excellent articles that I wish I had written."  The short name is "Great Articles." 

The Sales Tax Guy
http://salestaxguy.blogspot.com

Don't forget our upcoming seminars and webinars.
http://www.salestax-usetax.com/
Picture note: the image above is hosted on Flickr. If you'd like to see more, click on the photo. 

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Great Article: Sales Tax Audits: Is Your Business A Target?

 The Mud Show

from salestaxsupport.com and Lloyd Geggatt

Want to know what your odds are of getting audited?  This piece is for you.  States need to get the most bang for their audit hour, so they analyze several different factors.  While this is specific to California, most states use a similar method.  What can you do to avoid getting audited?  Let's see: move, change businesses, or do it right!   Enjoy the article.



This link is part of a series called "Excellent articles that I wish I had written."  The short name is "Great Articles." 

The Sales Tax Guy
http://salestaxguy.blogspot.com

Don't forget our upcoming seminars and webinars.
http://www.salestax-usetax.com/
Picture note: the image above is hosted on Flickr. If you'd like to see more, click on the photo.