In accordance with the new Marketplace Facilitator laws being enacted throughout the United States, athleteReg is implementing new technology to facilitate collecting and remitting state sales tax on behalf of our event directors and their applicable events.
What is the Marketplace Facilitator Law?
The Marketplace Facilitator laws, which varies state-by-state, are the result of the landmark Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair. This legislation requires marketplace facilitators (in our case, athleteReg) to collect and remit sales tax on behalf of their third-party sellers’ (you, our event directors) transactions. For states, these laws simplify tax collection, because they can collect from fewer entities. For sellers, the benefit lies in having sales tax for certain transactions handled by the facilitator.
How We’ve Been Preparing
In response to these changing laws, and in preparation for the changes that would be required for athleteReg and our customers, we’ve been upgrading our platform to better assist you with your obligation for sales tax collection and remittance. To ensure we’re 100% on top of this new law, we have completed an in-depth taxability analysis that looked closely at the specific legislation in each state, as well as all the types of transactions at athleteReg that would be affected — including event and race registrations, merchandise, camps, clinics, memberships, and service fees.
How Will this Affect Event Directors?
We’re embracing these laws and their complexity, and in the broader scope of what we do as a company, we see it as a way to provide additional services to our clients by taking on the burden of tracking legislation, and collecting and remitting taxes.
Because this shift in legislation has been a major priority for our company, we anticipate a smooth transition for event directors and their participants. And rest assured, there will be no additional cost incurred. Like any other taxable sale, we will calculate tax on each transaction and pass it along to the participant.
Next Steps
We anticipate the launch of our new Marketplace Facilitator Tax system, along with associated support services, this spring. While the integration is complex and time-consuming, we’re working hard internally and with outside experts to ensure we get this done right.
In the next few weeks, we’ll be in touch with more details, and will provide event directors with a few simple steps to ensure you have your event and any merchandise set up correctly. We’ll then take care of real-time calculations, collection, and compliance, providing you with accurate reporting and peace of mind.
We will let you know when athleteReg will begin collecting and remitting tax on your behalf. And for now, your event should continue to collect and remit sales tax as you have been, either on your own or using our custom tax tool. If you have any questions, we encourage you to review our FAQ or contact us at [email protected].