Urgent Action Required: Alabama Tax Regulation Will Rewrite Quill; Industry Funding Needed to Challenge Now
Sent on a vacation week for many, we wanted to make sure you were aware of this...
As you may have heard, effective January 1, 2016, the state of Alabama has begun noticing all remote marketers doing >$250,000 in annual sales in Alabama (effectively, $25 million-plus companies) that they must begin collecting and remitting sales tax on all sales of tangible goods made to Alabama residents. This is a direct challenge to the Quill precedent tested in the Supreme Court twice. Currently, no group or organization is stepping forward to oppose this. ACMA is willing to take on this fight to preserve the Quill precedent, but currently lacks the resources to mount a legal challenge without securing additional funding.
Our Ask
We need 20 companies to each pledge $20,000 to fund this specific legal action. If $20,000 is too steep for your company, make a fractional pledge. Funds collected will be held in a special account and will not support ACMA personnel or association costs.
No Action = Enormous Risk
If this money cannot be raised, the Alabama action will be left unchallenged; inaction could have severe effect on your business. As we have seen with other creative ways to pierce nexus, other states will rapidly adopt the Alabama example. Soon enough, the Quill precedent will be effectively destroyed and remote marketers will have to do battle with virtually every state seeking sales tax on out-of-state marketers. This unconstitutional act should not go unchallenged!
No Time to Lose
If we receive the number of written pledges required to fund this challenge, we will initiate legal action using one of the best legal experts in this field. ACMA will be the named plaintiff, keeping your company out of the public eye and not subject to consumer or regulatory blow-back. ACMA will keep all donors completely anonymous, and our attorneys advise us they see no grounds under which we can be required to disclose our supporters.
A Winnable Case
Because the Alabama regulation is of questionable constitutionality, we feel we have a good case, but only if we move right away to oppose it. But if the industry does not mount a legal challenge soon, our case weakens significantly.
How to Make Your Pledge Now
This should be an easy business case to make. Your company's finances are being threatened and it can be nipped in the bud now. To make your pledge, please simply send a private email to ACMA VP Paul Miller and provide the amount you wish to pledge, your name, title, company name, and phone number. If and when we get enough pledges, we will invoice you and start a legal action. Your donation will only fund this challenge and not go toward any ACMA admin or other costs.
We are happy to provide you with more information or to answer your questions.
