By Martin I. Eisenstein and Nathaniel A. BesseyBrann & Isaacson

As ACMA attorneys Martin Eisenstein and Nat Bessey wrote in Part One) of their two-part Legal Corner series to members last month (unlocked version here for non-members too), a major issue for the industry was the effort of the Massachusetts Department of Taxation to apply the Supreme Court’s ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair retroactively and assess many ACMA members and other remote merchants retroactively for sales tax liabilities for periods prior to the Supreme Court’s decision in Wayfair.

Brann & Isaacson is proud to announce that today we received a favorable, and unanimous, decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court invalidating the Department’s assessment. The Court found that absent a physical presence in Massachusetts, the Department did not have the authority to assess sales taxes based upon Internet contacts. The Court held that cookies/apps/content delivery networks do not constitute physical presence. This is a significant victory for the industry and a great holiday present.

Thank you to all ACMA members and other companies for your support in this effort.

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The author’s bios are linked above. For more information, contact Marty Eisenstein at meisenstein@brannlaw.com

 

Legal Disclaimer:
This column is for educational purposes only, to provide information as of the date of the blog about various legal issues we believe may be of interest to members of the ACMA and other catalog marketers. Reading this column does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and any of the column’s authors or their law firm Brann & Isaacson.  Although the authors of this column are attorneys, the information provided here is not provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship and is not intended to constitute legal advice. This column is not intended to be legal advertising or to solicit any specific representation. The views expressed are those of the authors, and are not intended to reflect or express the views of the ACMA or any of its members.

 

ACMA Contacts:
Paul Miller, vice president & deputy director, 914-669-8391, pmiller@catalogmailers.org

Hamilton Davison, president & executive director, 800-509-9514, hdavison@catalogmailers.org
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