The Streamlined Sales Tax Initiative (SSTI) represents an effort by revenue departments of various states to create uniformity among sales tax systems. Under the SSTI regime, a remote seller volunteers to pay sales tax in return for participating in a sales tax regime with uniform provisions at easing compliance. Such uniform provisions are codified in the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement (SSUTA). However, not all states are members of the SSUTA and some member states have only adopted portions of the SSUTA. Moreover, the SSUTA contains only the “model” provisions—individual states statutes continue to control the particular state’s tax system, leaving the door open to variation even in member states.
Much has changed in the more than 200 years that have passed since Benjamin Franklin coined the oft-quoted phrase, “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” So much so that, in our modern landscape of e-commerce and sales taxes, the world seems anything but certain. For merchants engaged in e-commerce and their advisors, the importance of thoroughly evaluating these issues and staying up to speed on this rapidly changing area of law cannot be overlooked.
Kathryn P. Jones is an attorney at the law firm of Forster Boughman & Lefkowitz, The Wealth Protection Group. She practices in the areas of general corporate law transactions, tax law and tax controversy resolution, and intellectual property matters. She can be reached at (407) 255-2055.