Sellers of retail goods have an obligation to accurately account for, and pay, the applicable sales taxes on the goods they sell. Generally speaking, this will mean collecting whatever tax is owed from one's customers and then paying it back to the state.
Common sales tax traps for merchants
Beware of New IRS Phone Scam
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued a warning about a new phone scam involving fake calls from the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS). Tax scammers are using "spoofed" TAS phone numbers to contact potential victims to obtain personal information and payments. The IRS reminds taxpayers that TAS does not typically initiate calls to taxpayers, unless the taxpayer has requested assistance first.
Deadline Approaches for 2015 Non-Filers to Claim $1.4 Billion in Federal Refunds
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) estimates that it has nearly $1.4 billion in unclaimed income tax refunds due to about 1.2 million taxpayers who failed to file a 2015 Form 1040. The deadline to claim these funds is this year's return filing deadline, April 15, 2019.
California Business Tax Question Put To U.S. Supreme Court
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich recently asked the U.S. Supreme Court for permission to file suit against the State of California over the $800 minimum business tax imposed on investors in certain LLCs. Brnovich contends that the California minimum tax, and California's related collection efforts when investors or businesses do not pay, is illegal because the investors have "purely passive investments in California companies." In addition, since the $800 minimum tax is deductible on Arizona tax returns, the California practice is costing Arizona more than $484,000 annually.
IRS Launches New "Dirty Dozen" List of Tax Scams for 2019
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently kicked off its annual "Dirty Dozen" awareness campaign to alert taxpayers to common tax scams. Topping the list in 2019 are new variations on phishing schemes that use "legitimate-looking emails with fake, but convincing website landing pages," social media links, and other methods to obtain taxpayers' personal information.
FTB Increases Interest Rates
The California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) recently announced that interest rates for personal income tax underpayments and overpayments, corporate underpayments, and estimate penalties will increase to 6 percent for 2019. The corporate overpayment interest rate will increase to 2 percent this year. For more information, click here.
