How to Defend a Remote Access to Software Sales Tax Audit, Part I

Since late 2008, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance has routinely taken the position that charges for application service provider (ASP) services, software-as-a-serve, or other online services may be subject to New York sales tax as licenses of software, which are taxable as sales of tangible personal property. Some sellers began collecting sales tax on this basis, and the department has audited and assessed many sellers who did not.