Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/1019591
20 WINES&VINES September 2018 A U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this summer gives states the option to collect sales taxes from online retail- ers, which is expected to create a new compliance and financial hurdle for many e- commerce sellers who have gotten used to a free ride. The ruling in Wayfair vs. South Dakota on June 21 will apply to wineries' out of state shipments in addition to deliveries from Ama- zon, Wal-Mart, Staples and Nordstrom, to name a few of the biggest online retailers. Wineries, however, have little to worry about immediately. "To be honest I think the wine industry is a little ahead of the game because we've been paying sales taxes already," said Steve Gross, vice president of state rela- tions for California's Wine Institute. "We don't see it as the kind of sea change that it is for many other retailers." The ruling is a victory for states, which can now tax catalog and web-based retailers in states where they don't have a physical pres- ence or "nexus." Gross said each state now has the opportunity to review its laws and decide if and how to amend them via legislation to add sales taxes and said the Wine Institute will notify the industry of any major changes that would affect wineries. Wineries, being licensed alcohol sellers already, have long been required to get per- mits, file reports and pay excise and sales taxes in many states. But the Supreme Court decision means that several states that have not required sales taxes in the past may now add them. Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and the District of Columbia currently don't collect state sales taxes from licensed di- rect-to-consumer wine shippers, although four of these states do collect excise taxes. Florida and Colorado are among the top 10 destination states for DtC shipments, accounting for 8% of shipments nationwide, according to Wines Vines Analytics and ShipCompliant by Sovos. Alex Koral is the expert on the topic at Ship- Compliant by Sovos, a firm that helps wineries comply with all laws and regulations when sending wine DtC across state lines. "At present, none of these states have yet indicated how they'll respond to the Wayfair decision," Koral said, "but if they were to amend their nexus laws to go after remote sellers, then wineries would be as impacted as any other seller." State excise taxes range from $.20 per gallon in Texas and California up to $2.25 in Florida and $2.50 in Alaska. Koral estimated that state and local sales taxes combined vary from about 4% to 12%. Wineries may also be affected if states that currently only levy state sales tax on DtC shipments start allow- ing city or other local sales taxes to be added, a move that Koral said would open up a "wild west scenario." —Jim Gordon How Supreme Court Ruling Affects Wineries WINE INDUSTRY NEWS New for 2018! Precision In-Line Carbonation No more sparging resulting in loss of aromatics Add freshness to your wine Control levels of CO 2 precisely prior to bottling CO 2 is instantly dissolved Option to remove dissolved oxygen during carbonation Add as little as 0.5 g/l with in-line CO 2 monitoring Mobile services off ered include Crossfl ow Filtration, Smoke Reduction, VA Reduction, EA Reduction, pH Adjustment, Wine Concentration, Alcohol Adjustment, Ultrafi ltration 707 552 2616 www.vafiltration.com "If they were to amend their nexus laws to go after remote sellers, then winer- ies would be as impacted as any other seller." —Alex Koral, ShipCompliant