Tax News

Top Story

Sales Tax Update - April 2025

by Michael T. Dillon, Esq., Dillon Tax Consulting LLC
4/26/2025

Texas Comptroller Adopts Changes to Data Processing Services

Effective April 2, 2025, the Texas Comptroller effected changes to Texas Administrative Code Rule 3.330, addressing the definition and sales tax treatment of data processing services, most specifically (1) refining what constitutes and does not constitute data processing services, and (2) adopting an exclusion for data processing that is sold for a single charge with another service if the data processing service (a) does not have a separate value and (b) is ancillary to the other service.  Data processing is defined as “the computerized entry, retrieval, search, compilation, manipulation, or storage ...

read more

Archive

South Carolina's Expansive Treatment of Cloud Computing Services as Taxable Communications

Dillon Tax Consulting
11/24/2014

As states continue to wrestle to define tax policy for the services that comprise the expanding world of cloud computing, South Carolina has again asserted its expansive approach for taxing anything that resembles communications services, including charges for Software As a Service (SAaS) or Platform As a Service (PAaS). [Private Letter Ruling #14-4, South Carolina ...

read more

An Interview with Bloomberg BNA: Will the Internet Tax Freedom Act Prohibit States From Taxing the 'Internet of Things'?

Dillon Tax Consulting
9/10/2014

Telematics services, or the "Internet of Things", require Internet access and Internet related services in order to be provided. The Internet Tax Freedom Act dictates that in most instances, "Internet access" shall be exempt from sales tax. It remains to be seen how states will define telematics and seek to apply existing or new sales ...

read more

Virginia Ignores ITFA and Issues Tax Rulings on Internet Activation and Reactivation Fees

Dillon Tax Consulting
9/10/2014

In two recent rulings, Virginia Ruling of the Commissioner PD 14-130 and 14-131 , the Virginia Commissioner ruled that Internet activation and Internet reactivation fees are not exempt under the Internet Tax Freedom Act. Rather they are subject to Virginia's communications sales tax. In Bloomberg BNA's 9/5 /14 Sales Tax Slice blog posting ...

read more

U.S. Supreme Court Grants Review of Jurisdictional Decision Regarding Colorado Notification Law

Dillon Tax Consulting
7/4/2014

On July 1, 2014, the United States Supreme Court granted the petition for writ of certiorari filed by Petitioner Direct Marketing Association (DMA) in a case involving Colorado’s controversial notification law. [Direct Marketing Association v. Brohl, U.S. Supreme Court, Dkt. 13-1032, petition for certiorari granted July 1, 2014] This case stems from Colorado ...

read more

Seeking What You Need To Hear vs. Seeking What You Want To Hear

Dillon Tax Consulting
6/30/2014

Sometimes my job can be quite difficult. I don’t enjoy telling the client that they have nexus, and/or that they have sales tax exposure in a state that they should address as soon as possible. Trust me, I would much rather share the news with a client that everything they are doing is ...

read more

Maryland High Court Attributes Nexus To Out-of-State Affiliates Due To Lack Of ‘Economic Substance’, Not Based On Unitary Nexus

Dillon Tax Consulting
4/2/2014

On March 24, 2014, Maryland’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, upheld a finding of nexus against two Delaware affiliates of W.L. Gore & Associates, Ltd. (Gore), on the premise that the affiliates lacked any economic substance [ Gore Enterprise Holdings, Inc. v. Comptroller of the Treasury, Md. Ct. App., No 36 (March 24, 2014 ...

read more

Judge Spares Remote Sellers From Colorado Notice Requirements

Dillon Tax Consulting
4/2/2014

On February 18, 2014, a Colorado judge enjoined the Colorado Department of Revenue’s enforcement of the remote seller sales and use tax notification requirements enacted by the Colorado legislature in 2010. [Direct Marketing Association v. Dep't of Revenue et al.; District Court, City and County of Denver, Case No. 13CV34855 (2/18/14 ...

read more