The United States Constitution expressly forbids ex post facto laws with respect to both the federal and state governments.[i] An ex post facto law is one that retroactively changes the legal status and consequences of a particular action. The easiest way to understand it is in the criminal realm. Today,…
Tennessee is the latest of states to jump on the economic nexus bandwagon. In an effort to sidestep the physical presence the proposed rule would require out-of-state dealers that engage in the regular or systematic solicitation of consumers in Tennessee through any means and make sales exceeding $500,000 to Tennessee…
State and local governments are continually searching for ways to increase revenue through taxation of online companies conducting business within their state or county. One such way is by assessing a rental tax against online travel companies (“OTCs”). OTCs typically facilitate the rental of a hotel room for vacationers and…
I have been writing about the taxability of the online travel companies for some time. Recently, the Florida Supreme Court case of Alachua County v. Expedia, Inc., ruled that the local bed tax should be imposed on the amount the hotel received rather than the higher amount the customer pays…
With the every-so-exciting Florida Sales Tax Holiday (“Holiday”) running August 7th through August 16th, all Floridians must become knowledgeable so that we can maximize our savings as buyers. The Holiday does not solely apply to Parents and Students looking for their essential pencil sharpeners, the Holiday applies to all sales…
In 2012, a case shook the tax world for Florida’s wholesale tobacco distributors. Specifically, a case called Micjo was decided in favor of tobacco distributors at Florida’s appellate court level. Micjo taught us that if a taxpayer disagrees with a department’s tax decision, then it should fight for its money…
As the internet becomes essential to our everyday lives, states are consistently inconsistent in their attempt to tax cloud computing systems. Cloud computing is “the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a…
In just another case where the Department of Business and Profession Regulation (“DBPR”) attempts to be larger than the law, a Recommended Order was issued on May 29th, 2015, stopping DBPR in its tracks. In Thompson Cigars, Case No: 14-3471, Judge Alexander agreed with the taxpayer, that DBPR’s inspection authority…
Over the past few years, we have been intricately involved in ongoing litigation with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (“ABT”). There still remains ongoing litigation in connection with the Micjo issue. Micjo dealt with whether non-tobacco charges, such as federal excise tax…
Over the past few years, taxpayers throughout Florida have been in a never ending battle with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (“ABT”). At the forefront is the Micjo issue. Micjo was a case that determined that Florida wholesale tobacco tax should not…