Martin Silver, PS

Attorney at Law

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Update on Washington State & FBA Nexus and Amazon Announcement to Start Collecting Washington Sales Tax on Third Party Online Sales

November 21, 2017 by Martin Silver

We have received a lot of calls over the past few months from out of state online retailers who were contacted by Washington’s Department of Revenue (DOR).  DOR asserted that these retailers must start collecting Washington state sales tax (WSST) on their sales made to customers residing in Washington state if they owned inventory stored… CONTINUE

Filed Under: State Audits, State Tax News, Tax News, Washington Department of Revenue Tagged With: audi, audit, retail sales tax, Washington State sales tax

IRS Collection Letters are Confusing (and probably intended to be)

April 9, 2017 by Martin Silver

Under law adopted by Congress about 20 years ago the IRS must follow a lock step procedure before it can begin enforced collection actions such as garnishment on wages, bank accounts, receivables and seizure of all other types of property.  One of the most urgent type of call our office gets is one from an… CONTINUE

Filed Under: Federal Tax Appeals, Internal Revenue Service, Tax Appeals

Careless Payments Cost Business Washington Sales Tax

July 5, 2016 by Martin Silver

How the money runs can alter whether a payment that is ordinarily not subject to retail sales tax becomes subject to the tax.  Architecture and design fees, for example, are normally classified for B & O purposes under the service classification and service providers do not have to collect retail.  But where, for example, a… CONTINUE

Filed Under: State Audits, State Tax Appeals, Tax News, Washington Department of Revenue

Rare Taxpayer Win on Washington State Successorship Liability

July 5, 2016 by Martin Silver

In a recent blog posted to this site (May 6, 2016) we discussed the risk in purchasing a business without understanding Washington’s successor liability law.  A new Department of Revenue appeals decision released June 24, 2016, is a surprising taxpayer success, and one which should be read and studied by anyone facing a possible successor situation.  While… CONTINUE

Filed Under: Business & Corporate Taxation, State Audits, State Tax Appeals

Buying or Selling a Small Business? Don’t Overlook Washington’s Iron Fisted Successor Liability

May 6, 2016 by Martin Silver

Many years ago we represented several local waste disposal businesses that were bought out by large national firms.  The price was negotiated by the parties, and the contracts were largely written by national law firms and given to the seller and to me for review and comment.  When we got to the question of Washington… CONTINUE

Filed Under: State Audits, State Tax News, Tax News

How Washington Revenue Imposes Sales Tax on Architectural and Design Services

April 30, 2016 by Martin Silver

Unlike the Federal income tax Washington’s tax system is not based on a uniform tax on net income derived from all sources:  it is a gross receipts tax with rates dependent on what classification an activity fits into.  Moreover, a business may perform several different activities which fall into different classifications, taxable at different rates,… CONTINUE

Filed Under: State Audits, State Tax Appeals, State Tax News, Tax News Tagged With: retail sales tax, service income, Washington State sales tax

Washington “Zapper” Criminal Prosecution – Use of Zapper May Have Tipped off Auditors to Unreported Cash Sales

February 25, 2016 by Martin Silver

The Department of Revenue announced on its website on February 5, 2016, that the state had filed charges against the owner of Facing East, a Bellevue restaurant, alleging among other charges the use of sales suppression software to hide cash transactions, and “pocketing  nearly $395,000 in sales tax collected from her patrons.” Revenue has for… CONTINUE

Filed Under: State Audits, State Tax News, Tax News Tagged With: audit, criminal prosecution, detection, sales suppression software, zapper

Washington State Seen as Prosecuting for Failure to Remit Smaller Amounts of Sales Tax.

December 1, 2015 by Martin Silver

We reprint in full below a report of a criminal conviction published on the Department of Revenue’s website. We do so because the amount of restitution ordered, some $41,000,  indicates that the amount of sales tax collected but not remitted was fairly small (we have participated in audits where no criminal charge occurred even though literally… CONTINUE

Filed Under: Business & Corporate Taxation, State Tax News, Tax News

2015 Washington Legislation Expands Nexus to Tax Out of State Wholesalers

November 30, 2015 by Martin Silver

Washington has a confusing set of tests for determining whether an out of state business must pay B & O tax to this state on sales of tangible personal property delivered here or for services rendered.  First, a “physical presence” nexus standard has historically applied to  businesses engaging in sales of tangible personal property either at… CONTINUE

Filed Under: Business & Corporate Taxation, State Tax News, Tax News, Washington Department of Revenue

IRS Announces A New Payroll Tax Initiative

August 8, 2015 by Martin Silver

IRS recently announced a new “initiative” (July 31, 2015 e-mail for tax professionals), to make early contact with employers who are falling behind in their payroll taxes.  According to the announcement, when it appears an employer may owe a balance at the end of the quarter, Revenue Officers will be in contact before the quarterly… CONTINUE

Filed Under: Federal Tax News, Internal Revenue Service

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About Martin Silver, P.S.

Licensed to practice before the U.S. Tax Court and Washington State and Federal Courts.

Widely recognized authority and lecturer in State, Local and IRS tax matters.

Author of Washington Taxes: Representing Taxpayers Before the Washington Department of Revenue (Butterworth Publishing, 1992), and numerous articles.

"AV" rated by Martindale-Hubbell, the nation's most recognized legal directory.

Contact Us

Martin Silver, P.S.
1420 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3000
Seattle, WA 98101-2393

(206) 224-3461 phone
(206) 224-3459 fax
msilver@wolfenet.com

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1420 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3000, Seattle, WA 98101-2393 | Phone: (206) 224-3461 | Fax: (206) 224-3459 | Email
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