State and Local Taxes

While almost everyone has heard of sales tax, many business owners are unaware that most states have a “use tax.” State laws treat sales and use tax as two separate taxes, but in reality they act in concert to complement each other.

You probably know the income, sales, and use tax rules in your own state and local jurisdictions without having to do much research. But what if a new client walks in the door and presents you with a tax situation in a state where you have not practiced b

A Northwest Arkansas software company earlier this month received one of only 15 sales tax-related patents ever issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The sales and use tax audit could possibly be one of the biggest challenges that your business clients will face. If you are working with a client who has been selected for an audit, you are now tasked with proving that the client remitted the correct amount of sales tax to the state Department of Revenue (DOR) agency. You will gain confidence about the pending sales tax audit if all documents have been prepared properly. The following tips will help you better prepare for the dreaded sales tax audit.

Historically, a business' gross revenues follow seasonal patterns and even a small change in gross revenue should result in a small change in the associated accounts. In an attempt to discover why one established contractor was selected for audit, I reviewed their sales tax filings and created the below table.

State tax collections fell short of expectations by $281 million last year, providing potential difficulties in the future for the state budget and immediate fodder for this fall's tight governor's race.

An airline is looking into coming to Idaho to set up a maintenance facility in Boise that would create 100 new jobs with salaries of close to $50,000 a year, Idaho's state commerce chief says, in part because of a new tax incentive law.

Kansas Secretary of Revenue Nick Jordan told Wichita Republicans Friday that the state's system for giving sales tax exemptions to charities is too political -- and politics will probably keep it from getting changed.