SingerLewak Tax Brief

A last-minute bill provides a one-year moratorium on collecting sales tax on internet transactions with California-based consumers. AB 155, which was signed by the Governor today, delays implementation of ABX1 28 (Ch. 11-7), the "Amazon" law, for one year.

This new bill, the result of a deal between Amazon.com and some California lawmakers, allows the online retailer to wait until at least September 2012 to collect sales tax from its California customers. As a result, Amazon has backed off of its efforts to get a referendum to overturn the law on the June 2012 ballot.

For the full text of the bill, go to: www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=ab_155&sess=CUR&house=B&author=charles_calderon

Note: Neither of these bills relieves California sellers of their responsibility to collect and remit sales tax on taxable sales shipped to California addresses. If a California seller sells a taxable item on Amazon.com, for example, and ships it to a California address, the item is subject to sales tax.

As always, please call if you would like to discuss any of these items further.

Please click here to find out more about our Tax+ program.

Your Tax Partners,

Mark G. Cook, Partner Steven J. Cupingood, Partner Dan B. Faulk, Partner Richard A. Linder, Partner	Donald G. Leve, Partner David Neighbors, Partner Todd Northrup, Partner Javier Ramirez, Partner	Thomas E. Wendler, Partner Jon Widdowson, Partner Michael Wu, Partner

IRS Circular 230 Disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any U.S. tax advice contained in this communication (including attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code, or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any matters addressed herein.

Notice: Opinions, conclusions, and other information in this message are not intended to represent recommendations or advice to you or any other person. Each person's circumstances are unique, and we strongly suggest you discuss your specific situation with your professional advisor before taking any action based on the information herein or information to which this message refers.