Can you imagine how your mother would feel if she got this call:

“Hey Mom, Happy Mother’s Day!  By the way, I’m going to be a little late for dinner.  As soon as I post bail, I’ll be right over.”

Yep, there’s no better way to honor your mother on her special day!

I was at the grocery store yesterday trying to gather up some goodies so I could cook my wife a nice Mother’s Day dinner.  For some reason, I decided to pause and pay attention to my fellow shoppers for a second.

The first thing that caught my eye was an older gentlemen who was sampling grapes from the carefully-constructed pyramid in the produce department.  We eventually made eye contact and he gave me the, “What the hell are you looking at?” stink-eye.

Even though the guy was twice my age, I didn’t want to stick around in case he gets punchy when people like me stare at him too long.

As I moved toward the olive bar, I saw this disgusting example of a human being reach into the pile of marinated sun-dried tomatoes with her bare hands.  As she dangled them over her mouth, I thought this was the cue for me to leave and tell my wife that we would be enjoying Mother’s Day dinner at a restaurant this year.

While I was making my way back toward the entrance of the grocery store, I just happened to follow that same lady over to the trail mix bins.

You know what, I’m just going to let your imagination take care of figuring out what she did over there.  (You’re welcome.)

In the tax world, the value of the grapes, marinated sun-dried tomatoes, and sunflower seeds (even the ones that stuck to this woman’s hand as she repeatedly sampled from the container) would probably be deemed “de minimis.”

Could these people have gone to jail for shoplifting?

Yes.

Could someone go to jail for failing to pay a de minimis amount of tax?

Yes.

How so?

Well, you’ll have to wait to find out.  I’ll be posting a new episode of The Only Tax Podcast, where I’ll explain how you can avoid the criminal pitfalls from de minimis taxes.

Until then, consider only purchasing food that’s in a sealed container.

In my opinion, tax professionals are way too skittish when it comes to social media.

In this episode of The Only Tax Podcast, I took the chance to chat with two friends of mine, Kelley Lear and Traci Wheeler, from Red Moon Solutions.  These two tax professionals have embraced social media and graciously shared their thoughts on why other tax professionals should follow their lead.

Check out our conversation here: 

Download: episode-13.m4a

Don’t go yet!

Kelley and Traci were kind enough to share a few resources.  Check them out below:

Click Here for Resource #1

Click Here for Resource #2

Click Here for Resource #3

It’s time to come clean…I’ve spent time in prison.

Thankfully, the “hard time” I’ve done hasn’t been from being on the wrong side of the law.  Nope, I’ve lived in the prison of “all or nothing.”

I’ve had countless things on my to-do list that lingered for way too many days before being removed.  For those tasks, I had a failure to launch because I didn’t feel as if I had the time, energy, or knowhow to get the job done.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that I had a squirrel living in the gutter outside of my bedroom window.  At night, he’d be wrestling around in there and making enough of a racket that kept me from sleeping.

You’d think I would’ve taken care of business and evicted the squirrel that next morning.  Nope!  I had no idea how I was going to crack open my gutter guards without breaking them, evict the squirrel, and then seal the gutter guards back up so he couldn’t return.

I was stuck in the prison of “all or nothing.”  Since I didn’t know how to handle the task, I did nothing.

After a week of sleepless nights, I finally reached a breaking point and made this task a priority.  I called an exterminator to evict the squirrel, then a gutter company to fix the damage he managed to do in a week’s time.

Now, I finally sleep like a baby again.

(By the way – if you have kids, I’m sure you realize how misleading that phrase is!)

When it comes to sales taxes, I often see people doing time in the prison of “all or nothing.”

Just like the situation I had with the squirrel, turning a blind eye to a sales tax situation isn’t a long-term solution.  Instead, break out of the prison of “all or nothing” and feel the freedom that comes from “moving in the direction of.”

Let’s say you’re in the “prison of all or nothing” because of a sales tax uncertainty.  Here are three simple steps that can help you “move in the direction of” greater certainty so you can clear more items off your to-do list:

1)    Assess the situation and establish a list of questions or uncertainties.

2)    Decide on the team members or advisors that should take ownership of the process.

3)    Come to grips with the fact that action costs less than inaction.

Now, let me throw it back to you.  In the comment section below, leave your tips for breaking out of the prison of “all or nothing” that help you “move in the direction of.”

“Set it and forget it.” 

That’s how most companies approach their sales tax compliance processes.  However, some companies have long realized the bottom line impact that can come from implementing sales tax planning strategies.  It’s my hope that you’ll want to explore the five opportunities I’ve listed below so you too can optimize your company’s bottom line.

Opportunity #1: Missed Exemptions

If your company qualifies for a sales tax exemption on certain purchases, make sure your vendors are actually honoring those exemptions.  If you “set it and forget it,” you may not realize that they’re charging sales tax despite your request for an exemption.

Opportunity #2: Audit Offsets

If you find sales tax overpayments were made during an audit period, you should ask the auditor to factor those into their overall assessment.  If you “set it and forget it,” auditors won’t go looking for those overpayments for you.

Opportunity #3: A/P Support

Give your A/P department the tools (e.g. tax matrices, cheat sheets, in-house training, etc.) to make sure they’re not processing unnecessary sales tax charges.  If you “set it and forget it,” your company’s bottom line will be trimmed each day by payments that could be as much as 9% higher than they should be.

Opportunity #4: Tax Adjustments

Make sure your sales tax returns are prepared using all necessary pieces of source data.  If you “set it and forget it,” you may be missing transactions occurring outside of your billing system that should be reducing your sales tax liabilities every month.

Opportunity #5: Bidding Blunders

If your company’s profit margins have been eroded in the past by overly aggressive bids, make sure your colleagues don’t use an overly conservative approach that anticipates more sales tax than will be required.  If you “set it and forget it,” your bloated bids will hurt your chances of having a competitive edge.

Supplemental Resource

If your company’s sales tax compliance process has been on autopilot, then I have a resource you need to check out.

Below is a link to an e-book that further breaks down these opportunities, provides case studies, and even provides a bonus opportunity that’s not mentioned above.  Plus, it outlines a simple three-step process to bring these opportunities to life at your company.  It should take about 5 seconds to download, about 5 minutes to read, and as a result it will arm you with the tools to start utilizing very powerful sales tax planning strategies.

Click Here for the Free E-Book: Sales Tax Best Practices – Five Overlooked Opportunities

Companies can no longer afford to have a “set it and forget it” mentality.  Start to incorporate these strategies into your routine and you’ll see measurable results that will help you optimize your company’s bottom line.

A birthday, some cupcakes, and a solid sales tax lesson.  All of that will be wrapped up with a pretty bow on top in this episode of The Only Tax Podcast.

Click here to listen - The Only Tax Podcast: Episode 12

Yesterday was my wife’s birthday, so I took the afternoon off for a family adventure.  We loaded up the taxmobile and headed to our favorite cupcake bakery for a mini celebration.  (Get it?  Mini celebration….cupcakes…..)

While we’ve been to this bakery dozens of times (and the puns keep rollin’), this time was different.  I almost wanted to kneel down and kiss the floor as I walked through the doors.

You see, this bakery was in the news recently for having a sales tax assessment of a quarter of a million dollars and was days away from being shut down.  Their accountants filed three consecutive months worth of sales tax returns without including any payments.  So, they collected a quarter of a million dollars worth of sales tax, but just forgot to remit it.

A quarter of a million dollars worth of sales tax over three months?  Yep – those are some good cupcakes over there!

So, what happened?

One report stated that it was an inadvertent oversight, but it was promptly resolved and their bakery was given a clean bill of health by the DC Office of Tax and Revenue.  Had they not resolved it so quickly, the bakery would’ve been shut down and I would’ve been holding a candlelight vigil outside the storefront.

Guess what?

These types of stories come up all the time.

What’s the reason?

The law of familiarity.  When it comes to any type of tax, not just sales tax, it’s easy to go on auto pilot because of the repetitive nature of the work.

What can we do to prevent ourselves or our colleagues in the tax department from going on autopilot?

Well, you’re just going to have to tune in tomorrow for the next episode of The Only Tax Podcast to find out!!

Same tax time, same tax channel.

See you tomorrow!

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m quick to complain, but slow to compliment.  However, that’s going to change and you can take that to the bank, Jack!

(I’m hooked on that show Duck Dynasty, so I’m channeling my inner Si Robertson.)

That being said, I want to share a compliment and send a quick shout-out to my new chiropractor, Dr. Lisa Przbysz.  I just started to get back into the routine of chiropractic care and I feel like a million bucks!

Here’s the thing, I’ve never had any back or neck problems.  Instead, I see chiropractic care as an essential element of proactive wellness.  After my first treatment, I was standing taller, there wasn’t an ounce of tension in my body, and my mind felt amazingly clear.

In that moment of clarity, I asked myself: “In what other parts of my life can I experience the high that comes from proactive action?”

As I started to chew on this question, my career naturally came to mind.  From there, I came up with three ways in which my clients could enjoy the clarity and relief that comes from proactive action:

Action #1: Check for Sales Tax Refund Opportunities Each Month.  If you wait too long to discover overpayments, they may fall out of statute and you’ll lose the chance to claim the benefit.  Plus, the time it takes to process amended returns or refund claims can be lengthy.  Set aside some time each month so you can realize the benefit immediately!

Action #2: Do Periodic Self-Audits.  In addition to scanning for sales tax refund opportunities each month, you should also do a quarterly process review to see if any sales/use tax underpayments are happening as well.  That way, you can correct those problems on your own terms before an auditor catches them first.

Action #3: Keep Tabs on Your Company.  The volume of internal e-mails and announcements you get is probably tipping the scale toward the “overwhelming” side of things.  Try to pay attention to what’s going on because you may find that a new product or service offering, merger, acquisition, or even the opening of new offices may trigger new sales tax or use tax compliance responsibilities.  Take note of them early on so you can take the necessary steps before it’s too late.

So, with those three simple steps, it’s my hope that you can use those ideas to help your company improve its sales and use tax compliance efforts.  Not only that, I also hope they can help you to look like a rock star!

(And you know what that means – rock stars cash checks.  Big ones!)

After watching Disney’s Toy Story, I was inspired to come out of retirement.  See what I mean by checking out: The Only Tax Podcast: Episode 11

About 10 years ago, a single event turned the Washington, D.C. metro area upside down.  Random strangers were hugging each other, flocks of bald eagles could be seen soaring majestically all around town, and motorists waved at each other with all five fingers extended (instead of just one).

Did Congress agree on a balanced budget?  (Hang on for a second, I’m still laughing.)

Did the cherry blossoms bloom twice that year?  (No, but how cool would that have been!)

The piece of news that fired up everyone in the area was the announcement that Joe Gibbs was coming out of retirement to coach the Washington Redskins.  He was an icon to Washington, not only because of his accomplishments on the football field, but also as an ambassador of goodwill.

Guess what?  I have an announcement of my own!

While the announcement I’m about to drop on you isn’t quite as monumental as the Joe Gibbs announcement, it’s still very important to me.  Without any further adieu, here we go:

I hereby announce that I will be coming out of retirement!

[Pause for fanfare]

While I never retired from the tax profession, I did go into retirement from social media.  I missed it, so I’m here to announce that I’m back!

So, what does that mean?  What will I be doing?

Tomorrow I’ll be releasing a new episode of The Only Tax Podcast, and I’ll lay out my game plan for returning to the social media game.

Ok, huddle up.  On the count of three, we yell, “HOORAY FOR THE INTERNET!”

1…2….3…..

You know that old saying…”The best things in life are tax free.”

(At least I think that’s how it goes.)

This weekend, I’m looking forward to a much-needed rest from the sales tax world.  So, I think I’ll take my daughter to one of our favorite hangouts – Mt. Vernon (George Washington’s estate).

Luckily, Virginia is one of those states that doesn’t impose a sales tax on admissions.  It’ll be nice to fork over a few bucks and not see any sales tax on the receipt.

Even though sales taxes, as we know them today, really didn’t start to take shape until the early 1900s, the concept of taxing purchases has been around for centuries.  In fact, toward the end of George Washington’s life, there was a tax on his beloved whisky.  The tax was so controversial that it sparked the great “Whisky Rebellion” of the late 1700s.

Could that have been the real catalyst for the moonshine movement?  Who knows.  When I head over to Mt. Vernon this weekend, I’ll see if I can spy any copper pots or stills that the General might have hidden in the woods.

Cheers!