Got a grip on nexus? Or has it got you by the throat?

Your customer exemption management: Adept or inept?

Are your use tax processes …

a. A well-oiled machine?

b. More or less adequate?

c. What’s a use tax?

Here’s a quick way to find out.

Sales tax automation vendor SpeedTax is offering a free sales tax compliance risk assessment in the form of an online questionnaire. It’s fairly comprehensive, with five to eight questions in each of seven sections, but you should be able get through the whole thing in 15 minutes.

Here’s a sample of the questions on that gnarliest of topics, nexus:

• How many legal business entities does your company have? (headquarters, warehouses, business locations)

• In how many states to which you have destination sales do you own, rent, or use equipment, property, or facilities?

• Do you hire third parties as subcontractors to perform services (for example, maintenance or installation) for your customers located in other states?

• How many times, per year, do you send company employees into destination states to conduct training, installation services, or other technical or customer support activities, or to build relationships or solicit orders for the sale of property or services?

• Do you use any related legal entity with a physical presence in a destination state to accept merchandise returns, accept sales orders, resolve warranty issues, or receive payments on your behalf?

I’d say that if you can answer questions like these off the top of your head, you’re probably already ahead of the game. ###