Pennsylvania Issues Sales Tax Fairness Bulletin

At press time, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue issued a regulatory bulletin [1] stipulating that, under current sales tax law, remote retailers that have warehouse facilities or online affiliates in Pennsylvania have nexus in the state.

As a result of the Sales and Use Tax Bulletin 2011-01, companies such as Amazon.com, which has three warehouses in the state, as well as a network of online affiliates acting as sales agents on their behalf, will be required to collect and remit sales tax for purchases made by residents in the state.

It is unclear as to how or when the state plans to enforce the new regulatory bulletin in regards to those remote retailers with nexus in the state that are not currently collecting and remitting.

The decision will remove unfair advantages that remote retailers have over bricks-and-mortar stores, Dan Hayward, the Pennsylvania spokesman for the Alliance for Main Street Fairness [2], a group advocating equal tax policies around the country, told the Central Penn Business Journal [3].

Look for more on this topic in next week’s Bookselling This Week.