Sales Taxes Increased in Q3

The total number of state, county, city and transit sales tax rate increases in the U.S. rose to 129 in the third quarter of this year, compared to 69 in third quarter of 2012, according to a new report from Thomson Reuters.

The latest quarterly ONESOURCE Indirect Tax rate report indicated that changes in U.S. indirect taxes such as sales and use tax are on the rise. There were 208 U.S. tax code changes made in the third quarter of 2013, up from 146 in Q3 2012.

“The burden for U.S. taxpayers continues to increase, with both an increase in sales tax rates and in the number of tax law changes,” said Thomson Reuters vice president of tax research and content Carla Yrjanson in a statement. “New or increased tax rates have an obvious impact on the consumer, but the impact these changes have on businesses is often overlooked. Regardless of whether there is a tax increase, decrease or a new tax all together, each change represents a significant operational burden for businesses that are chartered with collecting sales tax on behalf of government.”

In addition to the surge in overall tax changes, tax legislation such as the Marketplace Fairness Act, the Medical Excise Tax and the Massachusetts Computer Software Sales Tax have either been enacted into law or proposed to be voted on within the past year.

In the U.S., the average city, county and state tax rates increased as follows, compared to Q3 2012:

• The city rate increased from 1.68 percent to 1.75 percent.
• The county rate rose from 1.15 percent to 1.245 percent.

• The state rate went from 5.48 percent to 5.615 percent.

 

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