Do you know what's in your beer?

Author

Rohit Bhadange
July 02, 2023

Happy July folks - your favorite trash show is back.

Last episode, I promised I’d cover the Amazon FBA implications today, but it’s the long weekend, many of us are inebriated and I don’t want to piss anyone off yet… so we will cover the heavy stuff next time when we’re in the right mindset.

If you’re pissed about missing the implications of sales tax on Amazon sellers, or if you’re bored & have literally nothing else to do, you can read it here.

This one was a fun one, so let’s dig into today’s trash:

  • Most expensive ingredient in beer 🍺 

  • Louisiana filing deadline extended to July 20 🚨 

  • Whole Foods & Netflix drama ⚖️

  • Dwight does sales tax 😎 

  • Seattle E-commerce Highlight w/ SeaMonster, Tydo, Rebuy & more 📸 

  • Q from you - “Does sales tax = use tax?” 🙋‍♀️

What’s in your beer?

Fourth of July is around the corner. No patriotic day is complete without some family, BBQ or beer (or a lot for some of you).

Friendly reminder, Wednesday is a working day.

Although inflation has driven labor and raw materials costs higher… neither the grains, hops nor the labor is the most expensive ingredient in beer.

It’s taxes. Taxes taxes taxes.

Taxes are the single most expensive ingredient in beer, costing more than labor & raw material costs combined. See below for how high beer taxes are in your state.

🚨 Louisiana grants filing extension 🚨

Louisiana Dept. of Rev. is giving out a favor. Yes, that’s right. A favor.

They are granting automatic filing & payment extensions for businesses located in 21 parishes that were affected by the severe weather and power outages June 14-16.

The extended due date is July 20. Glad to know the Louisiana government has a heart.

Whole Foods & Netflix battling ⚔️

The Whole Foods drama…

  • A NY shopper has filed a class action lawsuit against Whole Foods.

  • Why? WF has been illegally charging sales tax on a green bean product that should have been tax exempt.

  • We’ll keep tabs on what happens next… but seems like the NY smoke, bugs and rent hikes have made people a bit… high strung.

Over to Netflix…

  • Recently, Netflix filed a lawsuit against Colorado.

  • For context - starting January 2021, Netflix, Disney+ and other streaming services were subject to Colorado sales tax.

  • Netflix believes that the sales tax on their subscriptions violates the Internet Tax Freedom Act. The 1998 federal law which bars discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.

  • In the last few years, Netflix and other streamers have been facing escalating battles with states and cities with mixed results.

😎 Meme of the Week 😎

Send us a meme - best one will be featured next week

Seattle E-commerce Highlight 📸 

An absolute blast at the Seattle E-commerce Meet-Up last week! 💥 

A few Zamp’ers attended along with teams from SeaMonster, Tydo, Rebuy, Recharge & more. In case you never got the group photo or have fomo, see below. 🤠 

If you are looking to organize an e-commerce event in your city, happy help to pass the word to the right individuals.

🌟 Partner Spotlight 🌟

UpCounting is an accounting, marketing and business consulting firm that empowers brands to succeed at DTC. They leverage powerful cloud technology and expert analytics to deliver experiences customers love. Their team can help you build the company of your dreams.

Interested? Just reply to this email and I can make an intro.

🙋‍♀️ You ask, we answer 🙋‍♂️

Q (Gavin): Is there a difference in sales tax and use tax?

A: Yes.

Sales Tax is tax on the sale, transfer, or exchange of a taxable item or service, at the point of sale. Sales tax is added to the price of the item and charged to the consumer.

There is also “sellers use tax” as well, which is another term for sales tax, and applies to remote sellers.

Use Tax is a tax on the storage, use, or consumption of a taxable item or service on which no sales tax has been paid. Use tax is mutually exclusive with sales tax. Often share the same rate but not always.

Struggling with Sales Tax?

Our team of sales tax experts will answer all your questions and address any concerns for free.

Let’s free you from sales tax.

Thank you for reading along. I’ll be back next Sunday with more sales tax shenanigans.

If you enjoyed this one, please share it with your network. 🤝

If you caught a laugh, reply back and let me know. I live for the people.

If you have any feedback, suggestions or questions, please let me know by responding to this email or DM me on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Until next week’s 🗑 …

Rohit