The Buyers Cove

Antimicrobial Products

Antimicrobial protection using Ciba® Irgaguard®, Microban® or Silpure® is built in to products during manufacture to provide continuous antimicrobial product protection. Antimicrobial protection has been used in Europe over many years and is now to be found in hundreds of medical, consumer and industrial products within America.

Bacteria performance – Antimicrobial protected products are extensively tested by the manufacturer's own analysis labs as well at over 27 independent labs worldwide. Using the Kirby Bauer test method, antimicrobial protected samples inoculated with bacteria showed no growth over 24 hours whereas untreated samples showed significant contamination that can cause stains, odors and product deterioration.

Mold performance – Antimicrobial treated products are also similarly tested against mold. The samples are tested for efficacy against mold using the AATCC Test Method 30, Part III. Antimicrobial treated samples were inoculated with mold and then evaluated after 7 days. The untreated samples showed significant contamination that can cause stains, odors and product deterioration whereas the treated samples did not.

We are pleased to be able to offer a range of antimicrobial products. If you require a particular treated product and do not find it in our store, please let us know what it is that you seek and we will find it for you.

Microban® belongs to Microban International Ltd. &/or its related companies.

Antimicrobial Products

Sales & Use Tax Developments

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Sales & Use Tax Developments

In theory, the collection and payment of Sales Tax is simple. The reality is that it’s a costly nightmare for most businesses on whom the burden to collect taxes falls. The advent of the internet has complicated matters.

Sales Tax is a means by which a State / Municipality / County raises extra revenue to help it provide services to its communities. Originally, when you went to a store and made a purchase, the Seller would add on the local sales tax and remit it to the Tax Department. Both mail order catalogs and the internet changed the ability of the Tax Department to collect Sales Tax because the Seller was nearly always outside of the State Jurisdiction.

The position is made more complex because the Seller does not always have possession of the advertised products. Frequently when a Buyer makes the request to purchase the product, the Seller will cut a Purchase Order to another company, which in turn may be in another State (or Country), who does have the product or will manufacture it. That company then “Drop Ships” the item directly to the Buyer. (Yet another complication exists where the Buyer is not the Consumer / End User as, for example, when a Broker / Agent / Dealer is the Buyer who instructs the Seller to ship the goods be shipped directly to the Consumer / End User.)

In an attempt to minimize loss of Sales Tax revenue on items bought out of State, many States have introduced a Use Tax which effectively makes it the responsibility of Buyers to make a declaration to their home State Tax Authority and pay tax on their otherwise tax free purchases. It is however, a fair bet that most residents overlook completing that section of their annual income tax returns which asks for the value of items purchased online and tax free.

A U.S. Supreme Court decision (Bellas Hess v Illinois and Quill Corp v. North Dakota) said that a State may not require a Seller that does not have a physical presence in the State to collect Sales Tax on sales into the State. The Court ruled that the existing system was too complicated to impose on a business that did not have a physical presence in the State. The Court said however, that Congress has the authority to allow States to require remote sellers to collect tax. (The Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) has been renewed through November 1, 2014.)

The general position can be summarized:

1. Where Seller and Buyer / Consumer are in the same state, there is no problem as the Seller will collect State and Local Sales Taxes.

2. If the Seller and Drop Shipper do not reside (have nexus) in the same State as the Buyer / Consumer, then neither of them has a responsibility to collect Sales Taxes. (The Buyer / Consumer is however obligated to declare the purchase and pay State Use Tax in states that have a Use Tax). 33 out of 46 States follow this basis.

3. If the Drop Shipper is located in the States of WI, CA, CT, HI, MA and RI then the Drop Shipper is liable to collect Sales Tax from a Buyer / Consumer in the same State, with the tax calculated on the price paid to the Seller.

4. Should the Drop Shipper be located in the States of DC, FL, LA, MD, NE, NV or TN then that Drop Shipper is liable to collect Sales Tax from a Buyer / Consumer in the same State, but with the tax calculated on the price the Drop Shipper sells the product to the Seller i.e. the wholesale price.

5. In Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2008 in New York State, an amendment was made to Section 1101(b)(8) of the Sales Tax Laws. Dubbed the “Amazon Tax”, it was challenged by both Amazon and Overstock.com but the challenge has been denied by the Court. As a result of the legislation, Amazon started collecting New York Sales Tax from June 1, 2008 and now levies Sales Taxes on shipments to the states of Kansas, Kentucky, New York, North Dakota and Washington.

New York’s law now requires that where the Seller enters in to agreements with New York State residents under which, for a commission or other consideration, the resident representative directly or indirectly refers potential customers to the Seller, including by link on a website, AND the gross receipts from such sales total more than $10,000 during the preceding 4 quarterly Sales Tax periods, then the Seller is deemed resident for Sales Tax purposes.

On its website, Amazon refers to the New York Tax amendment as a Sales Tax based on advertising. The New York State Sales Tax website states that the Departments presumption that a Seller is soliciting business in New York State can be rebutted where the Seller is able to establish that the only activity of its resident representative is a link provided on the representatives’ web sites to the Seller’s web site and none of the resident representatives engage in any solicitation activity targeted at State customers of the Seller.

In March 2000, the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board effort began. The result of the work is the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement the purpose of which is to simplify and modernize Sales and Use Tax administration in order to substantially reduce the burden of tax compliance. More information can be found at www.streamlinedsalestax.org or by email to Scott.Peterson@sstgb.org.

Full State members of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement are:

Arkansas - Indiana - Iowa - Kansas - Kentucky - Michigan - Minnesota - Nebraska - Nevada - New Jersey - North Carolina

North Dakota - Oklahoma - Rhode Island - South Dakota - Vermont - Washington - West Virginia - Wyoming

Associate States are ones where their laws are most likely to be or will be in compliance with the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement by July 1, 2009 are:

Ohio - Tennessee - Utah.

TheBuyersCove Inc only collects Sales Tax as outlined under “Privacy” and “Legal” on its website.

However, certain Drop-Shippers may invoice TheBuyersCove Inc for Sales Tax where the End User is located in a State in which the Drop-Shipper is either located or voluntarily registered for Sales Tax purposes. In these circumstances, a Buyer / User who is not otherwise Exempt from Sales Tax will have their invoices and charges adjusted accordingly.

This article is not intended to be legal advice in any form. It is intended to merely highlight the complexities of Sales Tax and make the reader aware of the continuing changes being made to Sales & Use Tax provisions. A lawyer, attorney or other professional advisor should be consulted as necessary. The content of this article is the responsibility of the author only and is not intended to express any views or opinions of any other person or body corporate. This article is based upon materials gathered from PC World Magazine - March 2009 Edition and the websites of Amazon.com, streamlinedsalestax.org and tax.state.ny.us.

Antimicrobial Products

Sales & Use Tax Developments

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