Talk:Sales tax

Tax field not used for Fast Offering expenses?

There was a thread on the forum at http://tech.lds.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1149 that discussed whether it made sense to fill in the Tax field for checks written from the Fast Offering category. There is absolutely no documentation that indicates that you would not, but late in the thread there is a post where someone reports that Clerk Support confirmed that the tax amount is 0 for checks written for Fast Offering expenses. Can anyone confirm or deny this? It would be nice to include this detail in the article. -- Aebrown 16:25, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

Alan, there are two Official Communication Letters from 1999 that state that "We encourage you to properly report all sales tax paid" (Emphasis added). There is no reference to whether it is to be paid on Fast Offerings expenses or not. It also states that this is to be recorded only in Utah and North Carolina no other states need to record sales tax. In reading the thread on the forum, I agree with your stance that this should be recorded in the authorized states and in Canada (as GST) no questions asked. We can upload a copy of the letter if needs be, and reference it in this article. --Caleb 18:56, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

Title more generic?

I wonder if a better title would be "Sales Tax". The topic covers information that is somewhat independent of MLS. And there is additional information that it would be nice to add to help units in states other than UT/NC to understand how they should treat the issue of sales tax. I don't know those details. I understand that some states have procedures for the Church to claim tax exemption, and that this affects the way purchases are made. In countries outside the US/Canada, there may also be similar tax issues. That seems like it would be good to document. Thoughts? -- Aebrown 16:30, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

Again, I think that you are right in the need to rename the article. It would one, make it more searchable, and two, allow us to expand it further for states that do not record sales tax. If units outside of Utah and North Carolina are in need of tax exempt information they should contact the administration office and ask for the Tax Administration Department, they will provide the exempt number for the stake. As far as countries outside the US, I am sure that Steve will have some input on the way things are done in the UK. --Caleb 18:56, 28 May 2009 (UTC)