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Sales Tax Update - May 2026

by Michael T. Dillon, Esq., Dillon Tax Consulting LLC
5/13/2026

The recent decision by the California Office of Tax Appeals (OTA) is a reminder that states have owner / officer liability provisions under which persons defined as “responsible persons” can be held personally liable for the sales tax debts of the organization. [Z. Sultana, California Office of Tax Appeals, 2026-OTA-204P, May 2026]

California Department of Tax and Finance Administration (CDTFA) conducted a sales tax audit of Ark (a clothing store) for sales tax for the periods 2014-2016, and reviewed z-tapes (i.e., cash register tapes), bank statements and daily sales worksheets.  The auditor found a material difference of nearly $700,000 ...

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Sales Tax Compliance

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 ...

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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 ...

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