Confronting the Chaos of State Taxes in the Post-Wayfair Environment

The 2018 Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v.Wayfair radically changed the constitutional limitations on state governments’ ability to reach beyond their borders and impose sales tax collection obligations on out-of-state sellers. Business consumers were also suddenly confronted with an array of new challenges, including having to cope with disparate product, use, and entity exemptions, as well as non-uniform exemption documentation. Moreover, as a result of Wayfair, companies have increased exposure to a variety of other state taxes, including corporate net income taxes, gross receipts taxes, and franchise taxes.

Businesses that are not aware of these dramatic changes could find themselves on the receiving end of crushing back-tax assessments and penalties. Our speakers will describe these risks and suggest practical measures that can be taken to reduce their vulnerability.

George Isaacson represented Wayfair before the US Supreme Court, and he will explain the Court’s ruling and its consequences, as well as discussing the prospects for federal legislation that would require states to simplify and make more uniform their sales tax regimes. He will also describe how some states have attempted to apply Wayfair’s new “economic presence” standard retroactively.

Jamie Szal is a former staff attorney and hearing officer for the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and will address post-Wayfair state legislation and the enforcement practices of departments of revenue, including the potential for companies to negotiate Voluntary Disclosure Agreements to limit their back-tax liability.

Nat Bessey has published several articles on state income tax issues and will explain the “safe harbor” from exposure to corporate net income taxes provided by a federal statute commonly known as P.L. 86-272. He will also explain how state revenue departments are attempting to narrow the protective shield provided by this law.

Jess Scheer
Editor, IOFM

IOFM Editor Jess Scheer is an award-winning business reporter, focused on the intersection of accounting, finance and management. Before joining IOFM, Jess spent five years as a Process Consultant, helping organizations more effectively and efficiently manage end-to-end processes, including Procure-to-Pay and Order-to-Cash.

Jess is a popular speaker, keynoting IOFM’s annual conferences. His sessions draw on his experience helping organizations create effective measurement approaches, conducting custom survey projects, as well as personally managing several large-scale benchmarking programs.

George S. Isaacson
Attorney, Brann & Isaacson

George Isaacson is a senior partner at Brann & Isaacson and regularly speaks to business and professional groups. He represents companies throughout the United States in connection with state and local tax controversies and has argued tax cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He is also counsel to several major trade associations and is the co-author of a regular column entitled “Eyes on e-Commerce.” For over three decades, he has been a professor of Constitutional Law at Bowdoin College and has testified on multiple occasions before congressional committees concerning constitutional limitations on the scope of state taxation and regulatory authority. Mr. Isaacson was recognized by State Tax Notes as one of the “top 10 individuals who influenced tax policy and practices” and was named as State Tax Notes “Person of the Year” for 2016.

Jamie Szal
Attorney, Brann & Isaacson

Jamie Szal is an associate at Brann & Isaacson who focuses her practice on assisting businesses in all aspects of state and local tax controversy, from regulatory and administrative proceedings through civil litigation. In the wake of the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, in which Brann & Isaacson represented Wayfair, she works with remote retailers of all sizes to evaluate their economic nexus profile, develop a sales and use tax collection action plan, and register with state and local tax authorities across the U.S. Jamie was previously a staff attorney with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, where she served In both the Litigation Bureau and as a hearing officer in Office of Appeals.

Nathaniel Bessey
Attorney, Brann & Isaacson

Nathaniel Bessey is a partner at Brann & Isaacson whose practice includes advising online and catalog retailers in areas crucial to their businesses, including state and local tax issues, regulatory compliance, and data privacy and security. Nat has experience representing clients in proceedings and litigation in state and federal courts, and administrative bodies, including state revenue departments. He has published several articles relating to cutting edge issues on the impact of e-commerce on state taxes.

This webinar is provided free of charge by IOFM.