[Fiat_Lux]

Originally Posted by theducks

For a USA retailer, this can be a nightmare.
Unlike the Simple: Food, Labor and all else.
there are specific exceptions or conditions.

If you think sales tax a nightmare for a retailer, think of your itinerant tarot reader & astrologer.

Depending upon the specific legal jurisdiction, prevailing licensing authorities, and prevailing local tax authorities, a tarot reading or astrological report can be:
* illegal;
* legal, but a license is required;
* legal, no license required;
* sales tax must be collected for all readings;
* sales tax is collected only when the client receives something physical;
* sales tax is collected only for one part of the reading;
* no sales tax is charged;

I had an extremely interesting chat with an individual in a state department of taxation, whose basic advice was "Be paid in cash, don't give receipts, don't allow audio, or video recordings, nor allow the client to write anything down. Do pay the IRS."
Since I was only going to be in that state for a couple of weeks, that was the simplest solution. Were I a resident of that state, then I'd need both a local lawyer, and a local tax accountant, because:
* Providing a physical report was one tax rate;
* Providing a digital report was a second tax rate;
* Telling the client the report, was a third tax rate;
* Different physical locations had different licensing rules;
* The law on astrology and tarot readings varied by physical location;

As a former Internet merchant, I applaud the European (and Canada) SIMPLE VAT method as opposed to the hodge-podge USA sales tax chaos.

Trying to figure out if the services you offer are subject to VAT, is as complex as trying to figure out what sales tax to charge, with the hodge-podge that is sales tax in the United States.

I think it was Revenue Australia that told me to call them back, when I had over a half a million dollars in revenue from their country. (A figure that is substantially higher than their law stated was the minimum required to register and collect taxes on goods and services delivered to the country.)