The growing patchwork of state internet sales taxes that has emerged since the landmark 2018 Supreme Court decision regarding out-of-state online sellers has hamstrung small businesses with costly compliance burdens.
Halstead Bead Inc. an online jewelry supply store in Prescott, Arizona, has found complying with the online sales tax vexing.
“It’s been quite challenging,” said Brad Scott, the company’s finance director. “So far, we have spent close to 4,000 hours [since June 2018] that we have diverted away from regular operations towards this.”
The company sells jewelry components and supplies to jewelry makers around the world. It currently complies with roughly 30 state laws that either require it to disclose that it is doing business in the state or to collect and remit taxes. Scott said that his company is complying with nearly “12,000 different tax jurisdictions” between the states.
