Sales Tax ID (Certificate of Authority):
You will need to collect Sales Tax if you are selling a product or offering a service that is taxable. The process of getting a Sales Tax ID is called obtaining a “Certificate of Authority”.
Your Certificate of Authority authorizes you to collect sales tax on your taxable sales . Once you receive your Certificate of Authority, you are considered to be in business even if you never make a sale or never open the doors of your establishment. It is therefore important that you file your sales tax returns on time, even if you did not have any taxable sales during the reporting period, to avoid being subject to penalties for not filing.
If your business changes its organizational structure (for example, from a sole proprietorship to a corporation, a limited liability company, or a partnership), the new organization must register as a vendor and obtain a new Certificate of Authority for the new business before you begin operating under the new organizational structure. You must also file a final return for your existing business and surrender the Certificate of Authority that was issued to the existing business.
Display your Certificate of Authority:
You must prominently display your Certificate of Authority at your place of business. If you have no permanent physical location, you can attach it to your truck, cart, wagon, stand, or other vehicle or facility from which you conduct business.
Sales Tax:
Sales tax is imposed on:
Retail sales of tangible personal property includes, but not limited to:
furniture, appliances, and lighting fixtures;
machinery and equipment, parts, tools, and supplies;
computers and pre-written (canned/off-the-shelf/standard)
computer software;
motor vehicles;
boats and yachts;
fuels (e.g., motor fuel, diesel motor fuel, and kero-jet fuel);
candy and confections;
bottled water, soda, and beer;
cigarettes and tobacco products;
cosmetics and toiletries;
jewelry;
artistic items such as sketches, paintings, and photographs;
animals, trees, shrubs, plants, and seeds;
coins and other monetary items, when purchased for purposes
other than for use as a medium of exchange;
building materials; and
prepaid telephone calling cards.
Sales of specifically enumerated services include, but not limited to;
providing certain information services;
processing, assembling, fabricating, printing or imprinting tangible;
personal property furnished by a customer who did not purchase the tangible personal property for resale;
installing, maintaining, servicing, or repairing tangible personal property that is not held for sale by the purchaser of the service in the regular course of business;
storing tangible personal property that is not being held for sale;
renting safe deposit boxes, vaults, and similar storage facilities;
maintaining, servicing, or repairing real property both inside and outside buildings;
providing parking, garaging, or storing services for motor vehicles;
interior decorating and designing;
protective or detective services; and
entertainment or information services provided by means of telephone or telegraph.
Other Taxable Items include, but not limited to:
Sales of gas, electricity, refrigeration and steam;
Sales of gas, electric, refrigeration and steam service;
Sales of telephony and telegraphy;
Sales of telephone and telegraph service (including telephone answering services, facsimile transmission services, and cellular telephone services);
Sales of food and drink for on premises consumption, for example, when sold by restaurants and taverns;
Sales of food and drink when sold by caterers;
Sales of heated food and sandwiches;
Rent for occupancy of hotel or motel rooms (including bed and breakfasts, boarding houses, guest houses, etc);
Admission charges to places of amusement, other than live dramatic or musical arts performances, motion picture theaters, participatory sporting events, or live circus performances;
Dues, including initiation fees, paid to social or athletic clubs when the dues are more than $10 per year; and
Charges of a roof garden, cabaret or other similar place.
furniture, appliances, and lighting fixtures;
machinery and equipment, parts, tools, and supplies;
computers and prewritten (canned/off-the-shelf/standard)
computer software;
motor vehicles;
boats and yachts;
fuels
candy and confections;
bottled water, soda, and beer;
cigarettes and tobacco products;
cosmetics and toiletries;
jewelry;
artistic items such as sketches, paintings, and photographs;
