Sales and Use Tax Answer Book (2020)

The Sales and Use Tax Answer Book is the key reference source for which practitioners have been searching. Not only is it comprehensive and clear; it also provides extensive citation to important case and statutory law. Forty-five states and the District of Columbia impose a sales tax on the retail sale of tangible personal property and selected services. In addition, there are 7,500 cities, municipalities, towns, school districts, counties, and other special taxing districts that levy sales and use taxes. The varying rates, the changing jurisdictional boundaries, the different tax bases, and the often inconsistent and contradictory interpretations of similarly worded statutes are all covered. The book also includes a chapter on sales tax reforms, particularly the Streamlined Sales Tax and a chapter on the gross receipts taxes that have been enacted in various states. The 2020 edition of the Sales and Use Tax Answer Book continues to provide coverage of topics such as subjects of sales and use tax, taxable persons, taxable transactions, interstate and extraterritorial transactions, constitutional issues and the latest updates on the Streamlined Sales Tax. Also included are case summaries which cover such areas as statistical sampling methodology, nexus, collection of sales tax by remote sellers, sales tax and the requirements of the commerce clause, sales made through independent contractors or brokers, sales and use tax in internet/electronic commerce, collection of use tax by a remote seller and minimum contacts requirements for out-of-state retailers.

Bruce M. Nelson, MA, is a CPA with Ehrhardt -Keefe-Steiner-Hottman-PC. Prior to taking this position he was with the law firm of Silverstein & Pomerantz, LLP. Prior to joining Silverstein & Pomerantz, he was the Manager of Tax Policy for two years at the state of Colorado. Before that, he was a Senior Tax Manager for several years in a "Big Four" accounting firm, where he ran the state and local tax desk. Bruce earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Master's degree from Colorado State University, and he is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Colorado. He is also on the adjunct faculty for Regis University where he teaches courses in individual, partnership, and corporate taxation. He is a frequent seminar speaker and teaches continuing education classes in state and local tax for the University of Denver's Graduate Tax Program, the Colorado Society of CPAs, and the American Institute of CPAs. Bruce has published more than 30 tax articles in many publications including the Journal of Accountancy, Tax Executive, Controller Magazine, the Journal of Multistate Taxation, State Tax Notes and Colorado Lawyer. He is also co-editor of the Guidebook to Colorado Taxes, also published by CCH. Bruce is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants. Prior to his death in 2013, James T. Collins, JD, was the Executive Director of the Deloitte Multistate Tax Center at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Mr. Collins earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political science and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Georgia. In addition, Mr, Collins was an adjunct professor of taxation in the School of Business Administration at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he taught an interstate and local taxation course since 1980. He served as the editor in chief and chairman of the editorial board of the Journal of State Taxation.. He was named the 1994 Corporate Wisconsin Tax Professional of the Year. John C. Healy, MST, CPA, is the Managing Director of the Deloitte Multistate Tax Center and a senior lecturer in the Graduate Tax Program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and is co-author of CCH's Multistate Corporate Tax Guide. Mr. Healy has more than 30 years of state and local tax experience and has held SALT management positions at Miller Brewing Company and General Electric Medical Systems. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Marquette University and a Master of Science degree in taxation from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is also a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Healy has published numerous articles in professional tax journals and is a past recipient of IPT's Literary Award. He is also the author of Surviiving the Sales Tax Audit in CCH's Solutions for State and Local Taxation. Mr. Healy has served as an instructor in a variety of continuing professional education and university tax courses. He is a member of the AICPA and WICPA and is past chair of the WICPA Wisconsin Taxation Committee.