You missed out, big time 😬

Author

Rohit Bhadange
July 23, 2023

It’s been a nail biting weekend. Everyone’s talking about Oppenheimer and Barbie. But did anyone else see They Cloned Tyrone? Jamie Foxx. 10/10. I didn’t watch Oppenheimer or Barbie but I’m confident my movie was better. Even Rotten tomatoes says so…

Now that you know you’ve wasted your weekends watching 2nd and 3rd tier trash, here’s some more:

  • 3-Step Guide to Sales Tax Holidays 🤯 

  • Illinois businesses can avoid penalties & interest 🚨 

  • Barbenheimer: The Box Office Battle 🍿 

  • Q from you - “Where to find state specific taxability rules?” 🙋‍♀️

😎 First, the meme of the week 😎

yikes… that’s below the belt.

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

A Guide: Sales Tax Holiday Edition 📝 

Sales tax holidays, tax-free weekends… they’re the same mumbo jumbo. Government likes to throw different strings of words at us to confuse us.

As a quick reminder, sales tax holiday is a period of time during which many states remove sales tax on certain items. Can be a weekend or much longer. So What do you need to know?

As a consumer, sales tax holidays are great. They can save you a good chunk of cash, but as a merchant… it’s not so great. Remember 3 things:

1️⃣ Some states make it mandatory for all businesses to participate, while others give you a choice.

2️⃣ Discover which of your products are exempt from sales tax during the holiday in each respective state.

3️⃣ Manually turn off sales tax item-by-item OR turn off all sales tax collection and cover it out of your own pocket.

🚨  Illinois waivers on penalties & interest 🚨 

Illinois Gov. Pritzker is being kind. Yes, that’s right. K-I-N-D. Kind. Shocking.

Businesses affected by severe weather & tornadoes from June 29 to July 4 may request waivers of penalty and interest on state taxes if they cannot file their returns or make payments on time.

Not automatic extensions but still… not completely heartless.

Requests can be sent electronically to [email protected] or via snail mail.

So… Barbie 🛍 or Oppenheimer⚔️ 

Both movies released this Friday and all the self-acclaimed critics have come out of hiding offering their own opinion. Most BEFORE watching both movies…

There’s one thing that won’t change across both: taxes. Barbie has more to look forward to as she navigates adulthood.

3 things you never wanted to know about the entertainment industry…

☝🏼The California Film Commission currently administers a $330 MILLION tax credit program for qualified productions produced in CA until 2025.

✌🏼 In WV, candy, chocolate covered nuts, and chewing gum sold at theaters are sales tax exempt — but prepared foods (e.g., popcorn) and soft drinks are not.

🤟🏼 Many states (WA, RI & others) charge taxes on digital goods — that includes streaming services like Netflix or Hulu!

🌟 Partner Spotlight 🌟

Summit eCommerce is the only bookkeeping service for e-commerce founders by e-commerce founders. Their team can help you understand and manage your finances, your cash flow and help you with a plan for growth.

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

🙋‍♀️ You ask, we answer 🙋‍♂️

Q (Koushik): If I owe no sales tax in a state, do I still have to file a return?

A: Yes, technically. Every business with a sales tax license is required to file a sales tax return even if no sales were made during the period covered by the return.

If your sales tax liability has declined, you may request less frequent filing from the specific state.

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