Content about Tax

The battle over online purchasing and sales tax might be winding to a close as more Republican governors are dropping their opposition to a mandatory state tax on Internet sales. The turning point may have been in May, when New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie cut a deal with Amazon.com: Residents of New Jersey would pay a 7% sales tax on Amazon.com purchases, and the nation’s largest e-tailer would build two distribution centers in the state.

A proposed 1% additional sales tax on selected lumber products that was part of Governor Jerry Brown’s attempt to close a state budget gap has been dropped, much to the relief of California LBM dealers. The tax pitted retail lumber sellers against lumber producers by shifting fees the timber industry currently pays to its customers.

Fastener maker Simpson Manufacturing Co. reported net sales of $130.7 million for its fourth fiscal quarter of 2011, a 9.3% increase over sales of $119.6 million for the same quarter of 2010. The Pleasanton, Calif.-based  company had income, net of tax, of $4.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to a loss, net of tax, of $4.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2010.

The following are responses to an HCN Daily item about Herman Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan, built around a 9% business tax, a 9% individual tax and a 9% national sales tax. It would also eliminate the mortgage interest deduction.] 

Luxury home builder Toll Brothers reported mixed results for its third fiscal quarter, with profits up but revenues down as cancellations increased and orders for new homes slowed.

Net earnings for the third quarter, which ended July 31, were $42.1 million, a 54% increase, but they included a one-time tax benefit of $38.2 million. This compares with net income of $27.3 million in the same period a year ago, which included a $26.5 million tax benefit. 

Brick-and-mortar retailers pay taxes. Online retailers often don't. That scenario along with a recent story about the online taxation debate raging in California led to the following reader comments about the relative fairness of sales tax rules in our increasingly digital world. 

A 162,340-sq.-ft. Menards has received final approval in Howard, Wis., outside of Green Bay, in a controversial deal that included $1.6 million in tax incentives, according to an article in the Green Bay Press Gazette. 

Luxury home builder Toll Brothers reported a net loss of $20.8 million for its second fiscal quarter, which ended April 30, compared with losses of $40.4 million in the same quarter in 2010.

When the health care reform debate raged earlier this year, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made this comment: “But we have to pass the [health care] bill so that you can find out what is in it.”

Those words have come back to haunt business owners.

According to Section 9006 of the 2,409-page Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, all businesses will be required to send 1099 tax forms to every company or individual from which they purchased more than $600 in services and goods throughout the tax year, beginning Jan 1, 2012.