News and Highlights

States are getting desperate for revenue, a fact I know firsthand. They hunt down out-of-state businesses like mine and slap them with massive tax assessments.

My company, Fastsigns, is a 27-year-old graphics and visual communications franchisor based in Carrollton. It’s a small business with 109 employees. So when a state unexpectedly sends us a tax bill for thousands of dollars — a state in which we don’t have any employees, offices or even a stick of inventory — it’s a very big deal and an expensive problem. Read more…

As president of a national food company, I thought I had seen it all. Until, that is, the state of Washington decided to send me a $180,000 tax bill for simply visiting the the state. I understand that states are starved for revenue these days, but Washington has gone too far. Based on one visit over a seven-year period, it decided that my company, Sage V Foods, should be required to pay business and occupation taxes. Washington made that determination even though Sage V Foods has no employees, no property, no sales offices and no inventory in the state – nothing. Read more…

I’m the chief financial officer of a small business here in Richmond, but sometimes I feel like a piggy bank for every state in the union that needs some extra cash. The latest state that came knocking was Wisconsin. Last year, it sent my company — Outdoor Living Brands –— a tax bill for a few hundred dollars. We paid up even though we don’t have a single employee, piece of inventory or even an office there.

Read more…

Douglas Lindholm, President and Executive Director, COST, discusses corporate tax and State laws with Fox News Live, April 10, 2012. Watch the video…

It’s tough enough for U.S. manufacturers to make ends meet in this economy. After paying the bills and covering payroll and expenses, many businesses are simply hoping to stay afloat, let alone turn a profit. So imagine being blindsided with a $376,000 tax bill from a state in which your company has no property, no sales offices, no bank accounts, no agents and not a single employee. In fact, the company’s sales in the state for the year in question were $100,000 less than the surprise tax assessment. Read more…

Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society. But few Americans realize the scope and breadth of the taxes businesses pay and how uncertain and unpredictable that tax burden has become. Most Americans would be shocked to learn that the 50 states have 50 different sets of standards for determining when an out-of-state corporation is subject to a state’s corporate income tax. These rules are so vague and unclear that costly litigation is often unavoidable. Read more…