States are increasingly attempting to address the application of tax to emerging technology and business models through new law, court cases and administrative rulings. Tracking developments is critical not only for technology providers, but also for purchasers of technology—which includes everyone.
To make recent developments more accessible to our clients, KPMG's Washington National Tax –State and Local Tax practice has created a Technology Checklist (Techlist) that summarizes recent state guidance for topics such as the taxability of software, guidance on digital equivalents and much more. The Techlist will be published on a quarterly basis.
Highlights of the current issue include:
- Texas: The Texas Comptroller ruled that a taxpayer selling digital products online did not have franchise tax nexus with Texas, explaining that despite the Wayfair decision, Texas "has not moved away from the physical presence requirement for franchise tax at this time.".
- Arkansas: The Arkansas Revenue Legal Counsel determined that a taxpayer which ran a crowdfunding campaign to produce copies of a card game must collect and remit sales tax at the time backers donated to the campaign.
- Utah: The Utah State Tax Commission issued a ruling addressing whether a company, operating a website that allowed customers to order food from participating restaurants, was considered the seller of the food for sales tax purposes.
- Massachusetts: The Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board ruled that a taxpayer's remotely accessed software products that helped create and maintain a screen-sharing connection, were subject to sales tax.
Many more developments are covered in the Techlist - download it below.
