KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm, offered the following perspective on the June 21, 2018 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in South Dakota v. Wayfair, which addresses state taxation of online retail sales:

“Today’s Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair could turn out to be almost as significant for American businesses as the recent rewrite of the U.S. federal tax code,” said Jeffrey C. LeSage, Americas Vice Chairman – Tax, of KPMG. “It’s a decision that reflects the realities of an increasingly digital global economy.”

LeSage also said: “The impact of the Court’s ruling on companies in terms of time, technology, and expense is likely going to be substantial. Businesses will now need to prepare to closely examine and retrofit their operations to determine where they have to collect tax, whether their goods are taxable, and how they are going to handle the new tax computation, filing, and remittance obligations.”

“The Supreme Court’s decision today in South Dakota v. Wayfair to reverse its 1992 ruling in Quill will remake the landscape for state tax collection in the U.S.,” said Harley Duncan, leader of the state and local tax group in the Washington National Tax practice of KPMG.  “Physical presence is no longer a prerequisite for states to require retailers to collect and remit state and local sales and use taxes, so many sellers will be moving into uncharted territory.”

Read KPMG’s initial comments on the oral arguments heard in the Wayfair case here.

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