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Treasury, IRS release proposed regulations on advanced manufacturing production credit

02.13.24

The Department of the Treasury and the IRS on December 14 issued proposed regulations to implement the advanced manufacturing production credit introduced by the Inflation Reduction Act under Internal Revenue Code Section 45X. 

Section 45 X provides eligible taxpayers a tax credit for the US production of eligible components related to clean energy technologies.

The IRS on October 24, 2022, had requested comments on issues arising under Section 45X, and received over 300 public comment submissions. 

The proposed regulations aim to provide clarity for eligible taxpayers seeking to claim the credit. Several key issues raised by industry and stakeholders that were addressed by the proposed regulations are discussed below. 

Production activity

One of the key requirements of the Section 45X credit is that the taxpayer must produce the eligible component. However, Section 45X does not provide a description of the level of activity necessary for a component to be considered “produced by the taxpayer.” The proposed regulations provide greater clarity on the required activity for a taxpayer to meet the production requirement. 

According to the proposed regulations, the term “produced by the taxpayer” generally refers to a process conducted by the taxpayer that substantially transforms constituent elements, materials, or subcomponents into a complete and distinct eligible component. This transformation must result in a functional difference, going beyond mere assembly or superficial modification. 

Partial transformation that does not lead to substantial transformation of the constituent elements, materials, or subcomponents into a complete and distinct eligible component is not included in the definition of “produced by the taxpayer.” To illustrate this concept, the proposed regulations provide an example whereby a taxpayer is ineligible for the Section 45X credit because it produces only a portion of an eligible component, but not the entire eligible component. 

Additionally, minor assembly of constituent elements, materials, or subcomponents, or superficial modification of the final eligible component, does not qualify as "produced by the taxpayer" unless the taxpayer also engages in the process resulting in substantial transformation. The proposed regulations provide several examples to illustrate cases whereby a taxpayer engaged in mere assembly or superficial modification is ineligible for the Section 45X credit. 

The proposed regulations do provide a special rule for solar grade polysilicon, electrode active materials, and applicable critical minerals, as “produced by the taxpayer” in these cases means processing, conversion, refinement, or purification of source materials, such as brines, ores, or waste streams, to derive a distinct eligible component.

Contract manufacturers

Taxpayers often utilize contract manufacturers to produce various components used in their trade or business, but before the proposed rules were issued, it was unclear which party may claim the Section 45X credit in scenarios involving eligible components. Stakeholders wondered if the IRS would adopt an approach similar to that used for other tax credits and deductions that follows the rights and risks associated with the arrangement. 

The proposed rules provide that in contract manufacturing arrangements of eligible components, the parties may determine by agreement who may claim the Section 45X credit. The IRS will not challenge such agreements provided all parties execute valid certification statements. Taxpayers should be careful, however, in scenarios where a contract manufacturer produces an eligible component for the taxpayer’s use. Because there is no sale of the eligible component (i.e., the contract manufacturer produces an eligible component for the taxpayer’s use), no Section 45X credit may be generated in those scenarios. 

Unrelated person sales requirement

The Section 45X credit is generally generated at the point of sale of the eligible component to an unrelated person. The proposed regulations adopt the definition of the term “related person” used in Section 52(b). Note, however, that the unrelated person rule may be satisfied by a sale to a related person who subsequently sells the eligible component to an unrelated person. In such cases, the Section 45X credit may be claimed at the point of sale to the unrelated person. 

This paradigm is also applicable when a taxpayer produces and sells an eligible component to a related person who integrates, incorporates, or assembles the eligible component into another eligible component. In such cases, the taxpayer may claim the Section 45X credit when the related person’s sale to the unrelated person occurs. To alleviate the administrative burden of tracking when the subsequent sales occur, taxpayers may use the Related Person Election as outlined in Section 45X and clarified in the proposed rules. 

With a Related Person Election, a taxpayer may treat the sale of an eligible component to a related person as if made to an unrelated person. The election applies to all sales of eligible components by the taxpayer to the related person during the taxable year with respect to that trade or business. The Related Person Election can also accelerate when a taxpayer may claim a Section 45X credit, as they do not need to wait until subsequent sales by other persons. 

Anti-abuse concerns

Recognizing the value of the Section 45X credit and potential for abuse, Treasury and the IRS provide robust anti-abuse provisions in the proposed rules. In some cases where the cost of producing certain eligible components is less than the amount of Section 45X credit available to produce those eligible components, the Treasury and the IRS expressed concerns over incentivizing taxpayers to produce eligible components solely for the purpose of claiming the Section 45X credit rather than for productive use. 

If the facts and circumstances lead the government to believe that a taxpayer’s primary purpose in producing an eligible component is wasteful, the Section 45X credit may be disallowed. In that case, excessive payment and excessive credit transfer penalties may also apply. Specifically, the Treasury and IRS present an example whereby a taxpayer may be motivated to produce and sell eligible components to both related and unrelated parties in order to claim the Section 45X credit, understanding that neither party plans to resell or use the eligible components, utilizing accommodation fees to facilitate the transactions. 

The Related Person Election is not available to taxpayers that utilize the election to sell components to related parties that plan to put the components to improper use or if the components were inherently defective, because they cannot be used for their intended purpose as an eligible component. 

The government is similarly concerned about scenarios where the Section 45X credit exceeds the cost of production, which could incentivize behavior that goes against the intent of Section 45X. To address this concern, the Treasury and the IRS added an anti-abuse provision to the proposed regulations that would recognize that the Related Person Election may remove an important safeguard and that selling to an unrelated party would mitigate the risks in those scenarios. 

Costs incurred by the taxpayer

The Section 45X credit is generally calculated by multiplying the volume or amount of eligible components by a predetermined credit amount. For electrode active materials and critical minerals, however, the Section 45X credit is instead calculated as 10% of the costs incurred to produce the eligible component. Note that in some cases, such as with lithium carbonate, a material may be both an electrode active material and a critical mineral, and the taxpayer may elect to claim the Section 45X credit for either category, but not both. 

Section 45X does not specify what is included in the costs incurred by the taxpayer for purposes of calculating the Section 45X credit. The proposed regulations, unsurprisingly, follow the Section 263A rules to determine includable production costs. However, for both electrode active materials and critical minerals, direct materials costs, indirect materials costs, and costs related to the extraction or acquisition of raw materials are excluded from production costs. 

Treasury and the IRS provide an explanation for these exclusions, stating that their intention is to appropriately credit value-added activities involved in the production of electrode active materials and critical minerals. While purchasing raw materials may enable a taxpayer to produce the eligible component, it is not considered an activity that adds value on its own. Therefore, only the costs associated with production activities that add value to the eligible component, conducted by the taxpayer producing the component, are considered for the 10% cost incurred amount for the Section 45X credit.

Treasury and the IRS also express concerns in the proposed regulations about potentially duplicating costs for multiple credits in cases where an electrode active material or critical mineral is later incorporated into another electrode active material or critical mineral. They invite comments on whether costs for extraction and other similar value-added activities in raw material production should be included, provided that these costs can be effectively administered by the IRS while addressing the government's concerns about cost duplication.

Other highlights from the proposed regulations include: 

  • The sale requirement may be met with an end product that is not itself an eligible component (such as an electric vehicle), as long as an eligible component is sold as part of that end product.
  • Production of eligible components may have begun before the effective date of the Section 45X credit, as long as they are completed and sold after December 31, 2022.
  • The proposed rules distinguish between 48C and 45X facilities for operations that may seek to claim both credits.
  • The regulations provide definitional clarity on eligible components and critical minerals.
  • A certificate of analysis (COA) requirement is introduced to document critical minerals.

Next steps

Before the proposed regulations are adopted as final regulations, the IRS and Treasury will consider any comments regarding the notice of proposed rulemaking that are submitted to the IRS by February 13, 2024. A public hearing has been scheduled for February 22, 2024.

Written by Jesse Tsai, Gabe Rubio and Courtney Sandifer. Copyright © 2023 BDO USA, P.C. All rights reserved. www.bdo.com

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In a closely held business, ownership always means far more than business value. Valuing your business will put a dollar figure on your business (and with any luck, it might even be accurate!). However, ownership of a business is about much more than the “number.” To many of our clients, ownership is about identity, personal fulfillment, developing a legacy, funding their lifestyle, and much more. What does business ownership mean to you? In our final article in this series, we are going to look at questions around what ownership means to different people, explore how to increase business value and liquidity, and discuss the decision of whether to grow your business or exit—and which liquidity options are available for each path. 

While it may seem counterintuitive, we find that it is best to delay the decision to grow or exit until the very end of the value acceleration process. After identifying and implementing business improvement and de-risking projects in the Discover stage and the Prepare stage (see below), people may find themselves more open to the idea of keeping their business and using that business to build liquidity while they explore other options. 

Once people have completed the Discover and Prepare stages and are ready to decide whether to exit or grow their business, we frame the conversation around personal and business readiness. Many personal readiness factors relate to what ownership means to each client. In this process, clients ask themselves the following questions:

  • Am I ready to not be in charge?
  • Am I ready to not be identified as the business?
  • Do I have a plan for what comes next?
  • Do I have the resources to fund what’s next? 
  • Have I communicated my plan?

On the business end, readiness topics include the following:

  • Is the team in place to carry on without me?
  • Do all employees know their role?
  • Does the team know the strategic plan?
  • Have we minimized risk? 
  • Have I communicated my plan?

Whether you choose to grow your business or exit it, you have various liquidity options to choose from. Liquidity options if you keep your business include 401(k) profit sharing, distributions, bonuses, and dividend recapitalization. Alternatively, liquidity options if you choose to exit your business include selling to strategic buyers, ESOPs, private equity firms, management, or family. 

When it comes to liquidity, there are several other topics clients are curious about. One of these topics is the use of earn-outs in the sale of a business. In an earn-out, a portion of the price of the business is suspended, contingent on business performance. The “short and sweet” on this topic is that we typically find them to be most effective over a two- to three-year time period. When selecting a metric to base the earn-out on (such as revenue, profit, or customer retention), consider what is in your control. Will the new owner change the capital structure or cost structure in a way that reduces income? Further, if the planned liquidity event involves merging your company into another company, specify how costs will be allocated for earn-out purposes. 

Rollover equity (receiving equity in the acquiring company as part of the deal structure) and the use of warrants/synthetic equity (incentives tied to increases in stock price) is another area in which we receive many questions from clients. Some key considerations:

  • Make sure you know how you will turn your rollover equity into cash.
  • Understand potential dilution of your rollover equity if the acquiring company continues to acquire other targets. 
  • Make sure the percentage of equity relative to total deal consideration is reasonable.
  • Seller financing typically has lower interest rates and favorable terms, so warrants are often attached to compensate the seller. 
  • Warrants are subject to capital gains tax while synthetic equity is typically ordinary income. As a result, warrants often have lower tax consequences.
  • Synthetic equity may work well for long-term incentive plans and for management buyouts. 

We have found that through the value acceleration process, clients are able to increase business value and liquidity, giving them control over how they spend their time and resources.

If you are interested in learning more about value acceleration, please contact the business valuation services team. We would be happy to meet with you, answer any questions you may have, and provide you with information on upcoming value acceleration presentations. 

Article
Decide: Value acceleration series part five (of five)

So far in our value acceleration article series, we have talked about increasing the value of your business and building liquidity into your life starting with taking inventory of where you are at and aligning values, reducing risk, and increasing intangible value.

In this article, we are going to focus on planning and execution. How these action items are introduced and executed may be just as important as the action items themselves. We still need to protect value before we can help it grow. Let’s say you had a plan, a good plan, to sell your business and start a new one. Maybe a bed-and-breakfast on the coast? You’ve earmarked the 70% in cash proceeds to bolster your retirement accounts. The remaining 30% was designed to generate cash for the down payment on the bed-and-breakfast. And it is stuck in escrow or, worse yet, tied to an earn-out. Now, the waiting begins. When do you get to move on to the next phase? After all that hard work in the value acceleration process, you still didn’t get where you wanted to go. What went wrong?

Many business owners stumble at the end because they lack a master plan that incorporates their business action items and personal action items. Planning and execution in the value acceleration process was the focus of our conversation with a group of business owners and advisors on Thursday, April 11th.

Business valuation master plan steps to take

A master plan should include both business actions and personal actions. We uncovered a number of points that resonated with business owners in the room. Almost every business owner has some sort of action item related to employees, whether it’s hiring new employees, advancing employees into new roles, or helping employees succeed in their current roles. A review of financial practices may also benefit many businesses. For example, by revisiting variable vs. fixed costs, companies may improve their bidding process and enhance profitability. 

Master plan business improvement action items:

  • Customer diversification and contract implementation
  • Inventory management
  • Use of relevant metrics and dashboards
  • Financial history and projections
  • Systems and process refinement

A comprehensive master plan should also include personal action items. Personal goals and objectives play a huge role in the actions taken by a business. As with the hypothetical bed-and-breakfast example, personal goals may influence your exit options and the selected deal structure. 

Master plan personal action items:

  •  Family involvement in the business
  •  Needs vs. wants
  •  Development of an advisory team
  •  Life after planning

A master plan incorporates all of the previously identified action items into an implementation timeline. Each master plan is different and reflects the underlying realities of the specific business. However, a practical framework to use as guidance is presented below.

The value acceleration process requires critical thinking and hard work. Just as important as identifying action items is creating a process to execute them effectively. Through proper planning and execution, we help our clients not only become wealthier but to use their wealth to better their lives. 

If you are interested in learning more about value acceleration, please contact the business valuation services team. We would be happy to meet with you, answer any questions you may have, and provide you with information on upcoming value acceleration presentations. 

Article
Planning and execution: Value acceleration series part four (of five)

What are the top three areas of improvement right now for your business? In this third article of our series, we will focus on how to increase business value by aligning values, decreasing risk, and improving what we call the “four C’s”: human capital, structural capital, social capital, and consumer capital.

To back up for a minute, value acceleration is the process of helping clients increase the value of their business and build liquidity into their lives. Previously, we looked at the Discover stage, in which business owners take inventory of their personal, financial, and business goals and assemble information into a prioritized action plan. Here, we are going to focus on the Prepare stage of the value acceleration process.

Aligning values may sound like an abstract concept, but it has a real world impact on business performance and profitability. For example, if a business has multiple owners with different future plans, the company can be pulled in two competing directions. Another example of poor alignment would be if a shareholder’s business plans (such as expanding the asset base to drive revenue) compete with personal plans (such as pulling money out of the business to fund retirement). Friction creates problems. The first step in the Prepare stage is therefore to reduce friction by aligning values.

Reducing risk

Personal risk creates business risk, and business risk creates personal risk. For example, if a business owner suddenly needs cash to fund unexpected medical bills, planned business expansion may be delayed to provide liquidity to the owner. If a key employee unexpectedly quits, the business owner may have to carve time away from their personal life to juggle new responsibilities. 

Business owners should therefore seek to reduce risk in their personal lives, (e.g., life insurance, use of wills, time management planning) and in their business, (e.g., employee contracts, customer contracts, supplier and customer diversification).

Intangible value and the four C's

Now more than ever, the value of a business is driven by intangible value rather than tangible asset value. One study found that intangible asset value made up 87% of S&P 500 market value in 2015 (up from 17% in 1975). Therefore, we look at how to increase business value by increasing intangible asset value and, specifically, the four C’s of intangible asset value: human capital, structural capital, social capital, and consumer capital. 

Here are two ways you can increase intangible asset value. First of all, do a cost-benefit analysis before implementing any strategies to boost intangible asset value. Second, to avoid employee burnout, break planned improvements into 90-day increments with specific targets.

At BerryDunn, we often diagram company performance on the underlying drivers of the 4 C’s (below). We use this tool to identify and assess the areas for greatest potential improvements:

By aligning values, decreasing risk, and improving the four C’s, business owners can achieve a spike in cash flow and business value, and obtain liquidity to fund their plans outside of their business.

If you are interested in learning more about value acceleration, please contact the business valuation services team. We would be happy to meet with you, answer any questions you may have, and provide you with information on upcoming value acceleration presentations.

Article
The four C's: Value acceleration series part three (of five)

This is our second of five articles addressing the many aspects of business valuation. In the first article, we presented an overview of the three stages of the value acceleration process (Discover, Prepare, and Decide). In this article we are going to look more closely at the Discover stage of the process.

In the Discover stage, business owners take inventory of their personal, financial, and business goals, noting ways to increase alignment and reduce risk. The objective of the Discover stage is to gather data and assemble information into a prioritized action plan, using the following general framework.

Every client we have talked to so far has plans and priorities outside of their business. Accordingly, the first topic in the Discover stage is to explore your personal plans and how they may affect business goals and operations. What do you want to do next in your personal life? How will you get it done?

Another area to explore is your personal financial plan, and how this interacts with your personal goals and business plans. What do you currently have? How much do you need to fund your other goals?

The third leg of the value acceleration “three-legged stool” is business goals. How much can the business contribute to your other goals? How much do you need from your business? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your business? How do these compare to other businesses? How can business value be enhanced? A business valuation can help you to answer these questions.

A business valuation can clarify the standing of your business regarding the qualities buyers find attractive. Relevant business attractiveness factors include the following:

  • Market factors, such as barriers to entry, competitive advantages, market leadership, economic prosperity, and market growth
  • Forecast factors, such as potential profit and revenue growth, revenue stream predictability, and whether or not revenue comes from recurring sources
  • Business factors, such as years of operation, management strength, customer loyalty, branding, customer database, intellectual property/technology, staff contracts, location, business owner reliance, marketing systems, and business systems

Your company’s performance in these areas may lead to a gap between what your business is worth and what it could be worth. Armed with the information from this assessment, you can prepare a plan to address this “value gap” and look toward your plans for the future.

If you are interested in learning more about value acceleration, please contact the business valuation services team. We would be happy to meet with you, answer any questions you may have, and provide you with information on upcoming value acceleration presentations.

Next up in our value acceleration series is all about what we call the four C's of the value acceleration process. 

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The discover stage: Value acceleration series part two (of five)

This is the first article in our five-article series that reviews the art and science of business valuation. The series is based on an in-person program we offer from time to time.  

Did you know that just 12 months after selling, three out of four business owners surveyed “profoundly regretted” their decision? Situations like these highlight the importance of the value acceleration process, which focuses on increasing value and aligning business, personal, and financial goals. Through this process, business owners will be better prepared for business transitions, and therefore be significantly more satisfied with their decisions.

Here is a high-level overview of the value acceleration process. This process has three stages, diagrammed here:

The Discover stage is also called the “triggering event.” This is where business owners take inventory of their situation, focusing on risk reduction and alignment of their business, personal, and financial goals. The information gleaned in this stage is then compiled into a prioritized action plan utilized in future stages.

In the Prepare stage, business owners follow through on business improvement and personal/financial planning action items formed in the discover stage. Examples of action items include the following:

  • Addressing weaknesses identified in the Discover stage, in the business, or in personal financial planning
  • Protecting value through planning documents and making sure appropriate insurance is in place
  • Analyzing and prioritizing projects to improve the value of the business, as identified in Discover stage
  • Developing strategies to increase liquidity and retirement savings

The last stage in the process is the Decide stage. At this point, business owners choose between continuing to drive additional value into the business or to sell it.

Through the value acceleration process, we help business owners build value into their businesses and liquidity into their lives.

If you are interested in learning more about value acceleration, please contact the business valuation services team. We would be happy to meet with you, answer any questions you may have, and provide you with information on upcoming value acceleration presentations.

Read more! In our next installment of the value acceleration blog series, we cover the Discover stage.

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The process: Value acceleration series part one (of five)

Editor’s note: read this if you are a Maine business owner or officer.

New state law aligns with federal rules for partnership audits

On June 18, 2019, the State of Maine enacted Legislative Document 1819, House Paper 1296, An Act to Harmonize State Income Tax Law and the Centralized Partnership Audit Rules of the Federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986

Just like it says, LD 1819 harmonizes Maine with updated federal rules for partnership audits by shifting state tax liability from individual partners to the partnership itself. It also establishes new rules for who can—and can’t—represent a partnership in audit proceedings, and what that representative’s powers are.

Classic tunes—The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982

Until recently, the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA) set federal standards for IRS audits of partnerships and those entities treated as partnerships for income tax purposes (LLCs, etc.). Those rules changed, however, following passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA) and the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (PATH Act). Changes made by the BBA and PATH Act included:

  • Replacing the Tax Matters Partner (TMP) with a Partnership Representative (PR);
  • Generally establishing the partnership, and not individual partners, as liable for any imputed underpayment resulting from an audit, meaning current partners can be held responsible for the tax liabilities of past partners; and
  • Imputing tax on the net audit adjustments at the highest individual or corporate tax rates.

Unlike TEFRA, the BBA and PATH Act granted Partnership Representatives sole authority to act on behalf of a partnership for a given tax year. Individual partners, who previously held limited notification and participation rights, were now bound by their PR’s actions.

Fresh beats—new tax liability laws under LD 1819

LD 1819 echoes key provisions of the BBA and PATH Act by shifting state tax liability from individual partners to the partnership itself and replacing the Tax Matters Partner with a Partnership Representative.

Eligibility requirements for PRs are also less than those for TMPs. PRs need only demonstrate “substantial presence in the US” and don’t need to be a partner in the partnership, e.g., a CFO or other person involved in the business. Additionally, partnerships may have different PRs at the federal and state level, provided they establish reasonable qualifications and procedures for designating someone other than the partnership’s federal-level PR to be its state-level PR.

LD 1819 applies to Maine partnerships for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2018. Any additional tax, penalties, and/or interest arising from audit are due no later than 180 days after the IRS’ final determination date, though some partnerships may be eligible for a 60-day extension. In addition, LD 1819 requires Maine partnerships to file a completed federal adjustments report.

Partnerships should review their partnership agreements in light of these changes to ensure the goals of the partnership and the individual partners are reflected in the case of an audit. 

Remix―Significant changes coming to the Maine Capital Investment Credit 

Passage of LD 1671 on July 2, 2019 will usher in a significant change to the Maine Capital Investment Credit, a popular credit which allows businesses to claim a tax credit for qualifying depreciable assets placed in service in Maine on which federal bonus depreciation is claimed on the taxpayer's federal income tax return. 

Effective for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2020, the credit is reduced to a rate of 1.2%. This is a significant reduction in the current credit percentages, which are 9% and 7% for corporate and all other taxpayers, respectively. The change intends to provide fairness to companies conducting business in-state over out-of-state counterparts. Taxpayers continue to have the option to waive the credit and claim depreciation recapture in a future year for the portion of accelerated federal bonus depreciation disallowed by Maine in the year the asset is placed in service. 

As a result of this meaningful reduction in the credit, taxpayers who have historically claimed the credit will want to discuss with their tax advisors whether it makes sense to continue claiming the credit for 2020 and beyond.
 

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Maine tax law changes: Music to the ears, or not so much?

A common pitfall for inbound sellers is applying the same concepts used to adopt “no tax” positions made for federal income tax purposes to determinations concerning sales and use tax compliance. Although similar conceptually, separate analyses are required for each determination.

For federal income tax purposes, inbound sellers that are selling goods to customers in the U.S. and do not have a fixed place of business or dependent agent in the U.S. have, traditionally, been able to rely on their country’s income tax treaty with the U.S. for “no tax” positions. Provided that the non-U.S. entity did not have a “permanent establishment” in the U.S., it was shielded from federal income tax and would have a limited federal income tax compliance obligation.

States, however, are generally not bound by comprehensive income tax treaties made with the U.S. Thus, non-U.S. entities can find themselves unwittingly subject to state and local sales and use tax compliance obligations even though they are protected from a federal income tax perspective. With recent changes in U.S. tax law, the burden of complying with sales and use tax filing and collection requirements has increased significantly.

Does your company have a process in place to deal with these new state and local tax compliance obligations?

What has changed? Wayfair—it’s got what a state needs

As a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., non-U.S. entities that have sales to customers in the U.S. may have unexpected sales and use tax filing obligations on a go-forward basis. Historically, non-U.S. entities did not have a sales and use tax compliance obligation when they did not have a physical presence in states where the sales occurred.

In Wayfair, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a state is no longer bound by the physical presence standard in order for it to impose its sales and use tax regime on entities making sales within the state. The prior physical presence standard was set forth in precedent established by the Supreme Court and was used to determine if an entity had sufficient connection with a state (i.e., nexus) to necessitate a tax filing and collection requirement.

Before the Wayfair ruling, an entity had to have a physical presence (generally either through employees or property located in a state) in order to be deemed to have nexus with the state. The Wayfair ruling overturned this precedent, eliminating the physical presence requirement. Now, a state can deem an entity to have nexus with the state merely for exceeding a certain level of sales or transactions with in-state customers. This is a concept referred to as “economic nexus.”

The Court in Wayfair determined that the state law in South Dakota providing a threshold of $100,000 in sales or more than 200 sale transactions occurring within the state is sufficient for economic nexus to exist with the state. This is good news for hard-pressed states and municipalities in search of more revenue. Since this ruling, there has been a flurry of new state legislation across the country. Like South Dakota, states are actively passing tax laws with similar bright-line tests to determine when entities have economic nexus and, therefore, a sales and use tax collection and filing requirement.

How this impacts non-U.S. entities

This can be a trap for non-U.S. entities making sales to customers in the U.S. Historically, non-U.S. entities lacking a U.S. physical presence generally only needed to navigate federal income tax rules.

Inbound sellers without a physical presence in the U.S. may have very limited experience with state and local tax compliance obligations. When considering all of the state and local tax jurisdictions that exist in the U.S. (according to the Tax Foundation there are more than 10,000 sales tax jurisdictions), the number of sales and use tax filing obligations can be significant. Depending on the level of sales activity within the U.S., a non-U.S. entity can quickly become inundated with the time and cost of sales and use tax compliance.

Next steps

Going forward, non-U.S. entities selling to customers in the U.S. should be aware of those states that have economic nexus thresholds and adopt procedures so they are prepared for their sales and use tax compliance obligations in real time. These tax compliance obligations will generally require an entity to register to do business in the state, collect sales tax from customers, and file regular tax returns, usually monthly or quarterly.

It is important to note when an entity has an obligation to collect sales tax, it will be liable for any sales tax due to a state, regardless of whether the sales tax is actually collected from the customer. It is imperative to stay abreast of these complex legislative changes in order to be compliant.

At BerryDunn, our tax professionals work with a number of non-U.S. companies that face international, state, and local tax issues. If you would like to discuss your particular circumstances, contact one of the experienced professionals in our state and local tax (“SALT”) practice.

Article
Sales & use tax: A potential trap for non-U.S. entities