Were it not for the controversy stirred up by the IRS's recent disclosure that it has been subjecting various “Tea Party” groups to special scrutiny, May would probably go down as a fairly quiet month for federal tax developments. But more on that below. Before discussing the “Tea Party” dust-up, however, we want to bring your attention to some other more mundane developments in the world of federal taxation.

The Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 (referred to by the media as the Internet retailer bill) has been slowing winding its way through Congress. The bill has the support of large Internet retailers such as Amazon as well as many states. The states seek the extra revenue and the Internet retailers (at least the large ones) seek simplicity.

On April 10, 2013, President Obama released his 2014 Fiscal Year "Budget Proposal" (i.e., for the federal government's Fiscal Year beginning October 1, 2013 and ending September 30, 2014). According to the White House, the Budget Proposal should achieve a $1.8 trillion deficit reduction. The Budget Proposal represents a mixture of tax increases and cuts in various federal entitlement programs. Thus far, his proposal has drawn criticism from Republicans for the proposed tax increases and from Democrats for the proposed cuts to entitlement programs. The Budget Proposal is quite lengthy and "The General Explanations of the Administration's Fiscal Year 2014 Revenue Proposals" (the Green Book) published by the Department of the Treasury is itself 246 pages long. Read more for a brief summary of some of the more significant tax provisions in the Budget Proposal.

Is “Internet Retailer” Legislation the End of
Nexus for Sales Taxes as We Know It?

Over the last number of years, Internet retailers have been under pressure by the states to collect and remit sales taxes from their customers. As a result, there has been an assortment of statutes enacted and agreements reached with the retailers, especially Amazon, to satisfy the need of the states for additional revenues and the retailers need for simplicity and consistency.

“Know before you go” has long-been a tag-line for various U.S. government publications and programs aimed at international travelers for everything from understanding restrictions on taking liquids through security at airports to how much alcohol a traveler can bring back to the U.S. duty-free.  For companies in the energy services sector, “know before you go” can be a critical part of bidding a job and completing a project on-budget.

On the tax side, the list is extensive but can be summed up based on three key areas.