We previously reported on the Massachusetts Department of Revenue’s Directive 17-1 (the “Directive”), setting forth the Department’s bright-line nexus threshold for internet vendors, effective July 1, 2017. Specifically, the Directive provides that an internet vendor with a principal place of business located outside of Massachusetts is required to register, collect and remit Massachusetts sales or use tax with respect to its Massachusetts sales if it: (1) had Massachusetts sales in excess of $500,000 during the preceding calendar year; and (2) made 100 or more sales for delivery into Massachusetts during the preceding calendar year. See Massachusetts Draws a Bright Line in the Silicon, May 16, 2017, for our prior coverage.
On June 8, 2017, the American Catalog Mailers Association and NetChoice filed a Verified Complaint for Declaratory Judgment with the Superior Court of Suffolk County challenging the Directive on Commerce Clause and Internet Tax Freedom Act grounds, among several others. The Complaint requests a preliminary and permanent injunction barring the Commissioner from implementing the Directive. The Complaint includes an affidavit from Mr. Christopher Cox, the principal author of the Internet Tax Freedom Act, stating “…without qualification that Directive 17-1 is precisely what the [Internet Tax Freedom Act] law was written to prevent.”
