May Tax Seminar at LIU Post

New York State and many of its subdivisions impose a sales and use tax on a wide range of transactions covering almost every aspect of commercial activity. The rules are often arcane, presenting a variety of traps for the unwary, many of which result from recent changes in the sales tax laws and the underlying administrative procedures.

Sales and use tax liabilities are particularly dangerous, since they are levied upon the gross taxable sales of the business, and potentially create a personal liability of the participants and their advisors in the business. It is important to understand how sales tax audit and collection procedures differ substantially from their income tax counterparts, and the record keeping techniques necessary to avoid draconian arbitrary assessments or even criminal prosecutions.

This course will address the very latest legislative and judicial developments affecting sales and use tax, as well as, the foundational and long-standing rules which every New York practitioner should be familiar with.

You will learn

• How to determine whether goods and services are taxable or exempt.
• How the context and form in which goods and services are sold can affect taxability.
• How to structure transactions to reduce or avoid the New York Sales and Use Tax.
• How the new repair regulations interact with the capital improvement exemption.
• How digital and cloud computing products and services are taxed.
• How to “audit proof” a business’s traditional or computerized books and records.
• How business owners can avoid personal liability for sales and use taxes.
• How to prevent unwanted collateral consequences from sales tax settlements.
• How to protest sales and use tax determinations.
• How criminal prosecutions of business owners and accountants arise from sales tax reporting errors.
• How to use the Voluntary Disclosure Program to protect clients from civil and criminal penalties.
• How New York has implemented the landmark Wayfair decision for interstate sales nexus.
• The latest on how NYS vendors can safely make sales into other states.
• Specialized strategies for dealing with specific industries, including construction, real estate, technology, manufacturing, restaurants, food stores, bars, gas stations, and places of amusement.