As of May 21, 2009, Justin Dagna is officially licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Washington!

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A recent court case may dramatically change how sales tax collection is handled in the United State of America. The case, [Dell Marketing LP v. Taxation and Revenue Dept. of the State of New Mexico, No. 26,843, N.M. Ct. App. 2008] involves a dispute between the state of New Mexico and Dell Computers.

Dell asserts that it does not owe sales tax in New Mexico as it has no physical presence there – all it does is ship computers into the state from its out of state location. These orders are all catalog or Internet based. New Mexico nevertheless pursued the case to force Dell to pay New Mexico state and occupation taxes.

The case linked above is the finding from the New Mexico Supreme Court, which determined that New Mexico could assess sales and occupation tax and that this assessment did not represent a barrier to interstate commerce that would be protected. The case was appealed the United State Supreme Court, which has refused to hear the case. While this doesn’t have the same force as if the Supreme Court had chosen to hear and affirm the case, their decision means that the New Mexico court’s finding will stand, and will become a precedent that other courts can borrow on.

Washington implemented the Destination-Based Sales Tax rules last year, which require remote sellers to charge sales tax based on the delivery location of goods, not the location of the seller. Of greater concern, Washington is part of a coalition of state, the SSUTA which intends to make remote sellers collect sales tax on sales to any state. This New Mexico decision may not directly affect you today, but it paves the way for a dramatic change in sales tax policies.

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We have been working with some pretty amazing clients throughout the tax season and some have sent their payments for our services in “Thank You” notes.  We are very honored and privileged to work with these people and I thought it would be nice to share a couple of their comments.

“We have been very pleased with your services and finally feel like we don’t have to stress (as much) about our taxes.  You make a great team and thank you so much!”

“You have been incredible to work with and I thank you!  It means a lot that you have taken a very scary subject like taxes and made it approachable and understandable.”

Comments like these are what I hear over and over when I am out interacting in networking groups or other events around the community.  Spontaneous testimonials seem to erupt when I am not expecting them at all.  Mostly, people appreciate that we take the time to sit down and discuss their taxes with them, asking questions and making sure we understand everything going on in their particular situation that may help us help them.  Then, we don’t just hand them their completed tax return, say, “sign here,” and “here’s your bill,” and try to get them out the door quickly.  We are not an assembly-line tax service!  We not only make sure we can claim every legal deduction and  dig for anything that can help, but we explain their completed return to them.  They leave knowing what the numbers on those pages mean, where they came from, and how they work.  I can’t tell you how many of our clients have left amazed and thanking us because for the very first time they actually understand their tax return and how much they appreciate our taking that time with them.  Over and over I hear our clients telling others how cared about they felt with us, and how respected.

The thanks goes both ways with us – and a huge THANK YOU to each of our clients in return. You rock!

Categories: Tax News and Tips
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