The ASCII Group Provides First Guide To Managed IT Services Sales Tax
California responds with answers about charging state sales tax, and group is preparing guides for solutions providers in other states
The ASCII Group has just released the “Managed IT Services Tax Guide: Advisement from California.” This is the first of a series of state-specific guides intended to help VARs, MSPs, and other IT solutions providers clarify when they should or should not be charging state sales tax related to their services.
Jerry Koutavas, president of The ASCII Group, says, “Questions raised on taxes became a significant discussion on our member discussion boards, and it was clear that there was no simple answer to some of the questions that were being raised by the membership — so we decided to take it upon ourselves to seek out the answers.”
The ASCII Group formed a committee of 15 members to help organize and categorize specific questions submitted by group members. The resulting list of questions — specific and sometimes complex — ask, for example, if California sales tax should be charged for transactions like “resold services that offer remote computer assistance through a third party within the state or out of state” or should be charged for services if no hardware or software was purchased by a solutions providers’ company.
The group sent a formal letter to California’s Department of Revenue for responses to help create the guide. In the guide’s foreward, Koutavas points out the responses are explanations of how the tax code is applied in general, and are not considered official rulings by the state.
The ASCII Group is providing this guide to its members, as well as to eligible MSPs in California through its partnership with Business Solutions magazine. To request the guide, visit http://ascii.com/ASCII/ca-msp-tax-guide.html.
Guides for other states will be made available in the future. Currently, several states have submitted responses to the questions from ASCII members’ and responses from other states are pending.
The ASCII Group is a reseller community of independent MSPs, VARs, and other solution providers. Formed in 1984, ASCII has more than 70 programs that provide turnkey cost-cutting strategies, innovative business building programs, and extensive peer interaction. ASCII members enjoy benefits such as marketing support; educational information; group purchasing power; increased leverage in the marketplace; and multiple networking opportunities. These programs enable ASCII members to increase revenue, lower operating costs, and grow service opportunities. You can learn more at www.ascii.com.