Sovos Issues 2021 Sales and Use Tax Annual Report, “The Continuing Evolution of Sales Tax”

Global tax software provider Sovos today issued its annual Sales and Use Tax report, “The Continuing Evolution of Sales Tax,” which focuses on regulatory trends, enforcement and technology as businesses try to solve sales tax and nexus issues in an increasingly complex tax environment. The report details the changing dynamic of sales tax management within organizations and how the quest to remain compliant is getting more difficult as governments continue to implement new tools to close the annual tax gap in the U.S., which is currently estimated to be at least $1 billion.

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With the onslaught of new tax laws and procedural changes, businesses have had to reexamine their own internal processes for sales tax compliance. Most have concluded that the associated risks and costs outweigh any benefit of a do-it-yourself approach. Tax moves too fast and the complexity is too much for manual processes to absorb. Sovos’ report details the changes taking place in the past year:

• As of January 2021, Sovos is tracking 1,465 different tax forms
• There have been 657 form revisions in 2021 alone
• In spring of 2021, legislators had proposed 2,148 bills compared to 686 in 2020
• From July 1, 2020, to now, there have been 640 rate changes implemented by tax authorities

“It’s almost impossible to maintain and scale a skilled and robust sales tax discipline within an organization,” said Chuck Maniace, vice president, regulatory analysis and design, Sovos. “Sales tax can no longer be managed on your own schedule and balanced against competing priorities. Changes are no longer predictable, and the time between announcement and enforcement is growing ever shorter. As states get more sophisticated in their audit techniques, the risk of non-compliance is just too great.”

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States are embracing new technology and digitization to increase transparency on transactions and increase payment schedules. Some states, such as Massachusetts, have introduced an advanced payment requirement on the 25th of each month for tax collected from the 1st to the 21st, with a goal to collect revenue quickly.

“Businesses have or are quickly coming to the realization that the trend in sales tax toward increased complexity is not going to reverse itself,” said Terry Melnik, GM, sales and use tax, Sovos. “Yet, there is an opportunity here to change your approach to tax by dedicating important resources to other business critical functions while implementing technology that will ensure your organization remains compliant.”

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