Governor Chris Sununu, Attorney General Gordon MacDonald, and Business and Economic Affairs Commissioner Taylor Caswell announced today (8/23/18) further actions by New Hampshire State Government in the wake of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc.

In that decision, the court overturned existing law, which required that a seller be physically present in a state before that state may impose sales and use tax collection obligations upon the seller. As a result, more than 10,000 jurisdictions that have a sales and use tax may seek to impose collection requirements on out-of-state sellers, potentially including New Hampshire businesses.

“The actions announced today are important steps that the Executive Branch can take while we continue to push for legislative action,” Sununu said. “While we remain hopeful that meaningful legislation can be enacted either this fall or next session, I have made clear to my administration that state government must do all it can in the meantime to protect New Hampshire businesses in the weeks and months ahead.”

The specific actions announced today are:

• The Department of Justice has prioritized efforts to detect and alert New Hampshire’s citizens to potential scams in which an individual impersonates another jurisdiction’s taxing authority in an attempt to acquire payment or sensitive customer data;
• The Department of Justice has dedicated resources to gather information related to actual efforts of other taxing jurisdictions to impose their sales and use tax obligations on New Hampshire businesses.
  • To assist the Department of Justice in collecting this information and monitoring for potential scams, the Attorney General requests that any New Hampshire business contacted about sales or use tax collection by an entity purporting to be a taxing authority call the Attorney General’s Consumer Information line at 888-468-4454 or 603-271-3643.
  • The Department of Justice cannot represent or give legal or tax advice to individuals or businesses. Therefore, businesses receiving a communication from a governmental entity outside of New Hampshire seeking to impose a sales and use tax obligation should consult a tax professional.
• The State has established a single website, https://www.nheconomy.com/nosalestax, which is intended to serve as a central clearinghouse for information about developments in the wake of the Wayfair decision. The website will be updated regularly with content and information provided by all agencies of state government, including the Departments of Justice, Business and Economic Affairs, and Revenue Administration.