Remote Sellers
NAA involvement with U.S. Supreme Court case "South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc."
Much of this page's information provided by autiontax.com
Updates
- Legal actions that are occurring regarding remote sellers sales tax
- NAA Board Member Allie Byers testifies before U.S. Senate Committee about impacts of South Dakota v. Wayfair
- State by State Sales Tax Informational Guide (UPDATED - January 2020)
NOTE: Information is provided as a guide ONLY. It is important that you directly check with the state with whom you are conduction business, as this information can be changed without notice and therefore would be outdated. - Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board provides list of certified service providers (October 2018)
- NAA helps get bill drafted, members encouraged to contact Reps (September 2018)
- 2018 Day on the Hill - South Dakota v. Wayfair information sheet (September 2018)
- What's occurred since the South Dakota v. Wayfair decision (August 2018)
- What does South Dakota v. Wayfair mean to NAA members? (August 2018)
- NAA to continue fight against unfair tax burden after South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. SCOTUS ruling (June 2018)
- Read SCOTUS official transcript from oral arguments (April 2018)
- Originial statements from 2017-2018 President Scott Shuman (February 2018)
What is South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc.?
In March 2017, the State of South Dakota passed a law with the intent to collect South Dakota sales tax on any taxable item purchased outside the state if the buyer takes possession of the purchased item within the border of South Dakota, i.e., has the item shipped. This includes items purchased in person at brick-and-mortar stores or auctions, as well as online at sites like Amazon.com, Wayfair.com, or online auctions. This law has been challenged, and the U.S. Supreme Court chose to hear arguments.
Currently, a business must have a physical presence in a state for that state to require said business to collect sales tax. This is based on a ruling by the Supreme Court in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota.
How does this affect you and the auction industry?
Many auction companies currently have auctions with buyers from out of state. If it stands, auction companies that do business in South Dakota would be tasked with the enormous burden of determining the applicable sales tax, collecting it, and remitting it to the buyer’s local taxing jurisdiction. In March 2014, there were 9,998 tax jurisdictions. (See the above graphic.)
Each time you sold an item to a buyer located in a different state, you’d need to determine the applicable sales tax, collect, and then remit the tax to the buyer’s local taxing jurisdiction. To do so, you will be required to hold a sales tax license in each state in which buyers purchase items from you, and in most cases a corresponding business license. By doing so, you will be subject to that jurisdiction's regulations and police powers.
More importantly, this case has many eyes on it. In fact, 25 other states have similar pending legislation. And, 35 states filed a brief in this case in support of South Dakota.
What is an Amicus brief? Why is that important?
An Amicus brief is a legal document that advises the court of relevant, additional information or arguments that the court might wish to consider, including unforeseen ramifications.
How you can be involve
You can submit questions to Ailie Byers, John Schultz, or Hannes Combest.
*NAA will keep constant watch and provide updates as they become available through email, the NAA Facebook page, the NAA Auction Professionals Facebook Group, and Auctioneer magazine.*