YESCO has been lighting up the Las Vegas Strip for over a century — about 70% of the Strip's iconic casino signage was built by them, including the newest screens on the Sphere. But behind the neon is a sales tax story most people never hear.

In this episode, Clark Smith, YESCO's Treasurer and Director of Finance and third-generation family employee, joins Danny to talk about how a routine recovery audit turned into a decade-plus partnership, and how a multi-entity mix-up nearly put a multi million dollar acquisition at risk.

We cover:
• How YESCO got its start in 1920 with $300 and a paintbrush
• The audit that first brought The Sales Tax People and YESCO together
• How a multi million dollar acquisition almost fell apart over a sales tax filing mistake
• What it's like managing sales tax across 37+ states, every single month

If you're running a business that's grown (or growing), you probably have some of the same issues. It’s best to find them before a buyer or auditor does.

🔗 Check out YESCO here
🔗 Learn more about The Sales Tax People here

Nexus. Taxability. Who's responsible to collect. If you've been following this series, you now know the three questions every business needs to answer about sales tax compliance! This last one ties it all together and covers one thing a lot of businesses get wrong next: sales tax software.

Sales tax software and sales tax knowledge have to work together. Simply buying a tool doesn't make you compliant! It has to be set up correctly around your specific nexus footprint, taxability, and collection responsibility.

In this episode:

- Why sales tax software alone isn't enough and what "married" to your compliance strategy actually means
- What to do next if this raised questions for you

If sales tax is keeping you up at night, let's talk!

Schedule a free, quick, no-pressure conversation with a real sales tax expert to get clarity and peace of mind here.

You've got nexus. You know what you sell is taxable. So why might you still not owe the tax?

This is the third and final video in our 3-part series on the questions every business needs to answer about sales tax. This time, it comes down to how you sell and who's actually responsible for collecting.

We cover:

- B2B vs. B2C, and why the type of customer you sell to changes your responsibility
- Marketplace facilitator laws: how selling on Amazon, Etsy, Walmart, Home Depot, Wayfair, or eBay shifts tax collection to the platform — and why you still need to confirm they're actually collecting on your sales
- Wholesale and resale: when your customer is the one responsible for collecting tax from their customers, not you
- Why you may still need to report exempt sales on your return, even when you're not the one collecting
- What happens when you don't file: penalties, interest, and penalties on the penalty

Put all three questions together (nexus, taxability, and who's responsible to collect) and you've got the foundation for managing sales tax compliance the right way!

Talk to a real sales tax expert about your compliance responsibility. Schedule a free "What's Next" call here.

Nexus tells you where you owe sales tax. Taxability tells you what you actually owe it on. Most businesses get the second part wrong, and it's an expensive mistake!

We break down how each state decides what's taxable, why tangible goods are taxed by default (unless specifically exempted), and why more services are becoming taxable every year.

We'll give you real examples: a protein bar that's taxable in some states and exempt in others, a security company taxed differently for "monitoring" vs. "management" services, and a company selling AI that was actually overcollecting tax on professional services.

Get taxability wrong and you could end up paying the tax yourself out of pocket (plus penalties and interest😧) during an audit. Watch to learn how to determine taxability correctly and protect your margins.

📌 Topics covered:

Nexus vs. taxability — what's the difference
Why tangible property is taxable by default
How taxable services vary by state
Real-world taxability mistakes and their cost
What to do if you've been over- or under-collecting

If you're unsure whether what you sell is taxable, get an expert's opinion here.

Where you sell is the first question in sales tax, and the answer comes down to nexus.

This is part 1 of our 3-part series breaking down the questions every business needs to answer about sales tax! Here's what we cover:

- What nexus actually means: the connection between your business and a state that triggers a tax obligation
- Physical nexus vs. economic nexus, and why economic nexus changed the game
- The common thresholds ($100,000 in sales or 200 transactions) and why they're calculated differently from state to state
- What happens when a business crosses a threshold without realizing it

We always start with nexus. It's the foundation everything else gets built on. Get it wrong, and the rest of your compliance is built on sand 😳

Next up: Question 2 covers taxability, because having nexus doesn't automatically mean everything you sell gets taxed.

Talk to a real sales tax expert about your nexus footprint. Schedule a free "What's Next" call here.

#SalesTaxNexus #SalesTaxCompliance #TheSalesTaxPeople

Sales tax can feel complicated. Here's where to start.

We're kicking off a new miniseries on the three questions every business owner needs to be able to answer about their sales tax responsibility:

Where do you sell?
What do you sell?
How do you sell it?

If you can't answer these with confidence, you may have a blind spot that's exposing you to risk. That's exactly what we're here to help with.

Follow along as Jason, Paul, and Danny break down each question. If you want to talk through your specific situation sooner, we offer a free 30 minute consultation. No pressure, just clarity.

Head to our site: sales.tax

Is Your "Set It and Forget It" Sales Tax Strategy Quietly Costing You Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars?

In this episode of Tax Talk, Danny, Parr, and Paul break down exactly when a business needs to start worrying about sales tax compliance — and why waiting until there's a visible problem is almost always the most expensive path. You'll hear a real-world example of a $50M SaaS acquisition that faced nearly $1M in escrow holdbacks because sales tax was never addressed, and learn why a free second opinion could be the smartest move your business makes this year.

Questions we answer in this episode:

When does a new business need to start thinking about sales tax?
What are economic nexus thresholds and how do they vary by state?
Does physical presence (employees, inventory) trigger sales tax obligations?
How often should I review my sales tax compliance setup?
What happens if I ignore sales tax notices or never address compliance?
Can sales tax issues affect an M&A deal or company acquisition?
How much does it cost to fix sales tax problems reactively vs. proactively?

🔍 Learn about our Sales Tax Nexus and Taxability services → https://sales.tax/services/nexus-and-taxability/

📌 See how Acima saved hundreds of thousands and supported a $1.65B acquisition → https://sales.tax/client-stories/acima/
📌 See how Sports Research saved over $4,000,000 in fees and penalties → https://sales.tax/client-stories/sports-research/

🎙️ Hear Jason Parr on The Go-to-Market Podcast explain how nexus has changed: "Nexus used to be about where you conducted business. Now it's all based on where your customers are located." → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEdaGo4pVfU&list=PL7A8ewX5HdTLMsdEmFrIotm3IqPQn8yKO&index=6

Don't let sales tax smolder beneath your business. Whether you're a startup entering the US market or an established company that hasn't reviewed your setup in years, a quick conversation could save you from a six- or seven-figure surprise.

📅 Book a Demo for more customized help
💼 Find us on LinkedIn

In this episode of Tax Rant, Danny Wright, Jason Parr, and Paul Johnson celebrate America's 250th anniversary by exploring how gratitude and perspective can transform the way business owners think about sales tax compliance. You'll learn why July 1 is a critical date for new sales tax legislative changes, how to reframe multi-state compliance as a sign of business success, and why the real cost of NOT outsourcing your sales tax far outweighs the cost of doing it right.

Questions answered in this episode:

• Is sales tax compliance really just a cost of doing business?
• What happens if I fail to collect sales tax from my customers?
• Why is July 1 such an important date for sales tax changes?
• Am I at a competitive disadvantage if I charge sales tax and my competitors don't?
• How can I reframe sales tax obligations as a positive sign of business growth?
• Should I outsource sales tax compliance or handle it in-house?

Related Resources:
📖 Do I Need to Collect Sales Tax? A Complete Guide for Businesses
📖 What Is Economic Nexus?
📖 How Sales Tax Changed Forever After Wayfair
📖 Common Sales Tax Mistakes That Trigger Audits and Penalties
📖 The Power of Outsourced Sales Tax Compliance
📖 Sales Tax Management Services

🎧 Catch more episodes of The Sales Tax People Podcast
📊 See how Acima achieved compliance in 240+ jurisdictions: Acima Case Study
📊 See how Coburn's reduced a $1M+ liability to just over $100K: Coburn's Case Study

💬 Ready to stop worrying about sales tax and focus on growing your business? Book a Demo for more customized help

Find us on LinkedIn

Jason Parr, Danny Wright, and Paul Johnson dig into one of the messiest corners of sales tax compliance... construction and contracting. 

If you think you're safe because you haven't hit economic nexus thresholds, this episode is for you (physical nexus has been the law for 50+ years, and subcontractors or 1099 sales reps working on your behalf can create it without you knowing).

In this episode, the guys cover:
- Why physical nexus still matters even in a post-2018, economic nexus world
- How using subcontractors or independent sales reps can create nexus you didn't see coming
- The real property vs. tangible personal property debate (and why a Tesla charger installation can turn into a legal gray area)
- How Texas, New York, New Jersey, and Arizona each handle contractor taxability differently... and why treating them the same is a costly mistake
- What a capital improvement certificate actually does (and who's responsible for signing it)
- Real audit stories, including a six-figure surprise after a "No Tax Due" audit years earlier with zero changes in the business

The big takeaway: what your competitor does, what your vendor does, or what worked in your home state doesn't tell you what's actually required somewhere else. Every state writes its own rules, and construction is one of the industries where "close enough" gets expensive fast.

If any of this sounds familiar, or you're not sure where your business stands, book a free What's Next call and we'll help you figure out where you actually have exposure.

Austin and Sarah Anderson built Beautiful Brows and Lashes from a kitchen table in Ivins, Utah. She was a traveling microblading instructor. He taught himself Google Ads in a hotel room while she was in labor. They packaged orders in their kitchen and drove them to the post office themselves.

Then sales tax caught up with them.

In this episode of The Sales Tax People Podcast, Danny Wright sits down with Austin and Sarah to talk about burning your ships, building something from nothing, and what it actually looks like when a growing e-commerce brand runs into multi-state sales tax complexity they weren't prepared for.

Real story. Real people. Real compliance.

Ready to figure out your own sales tax situation?
Book a free What's Next call at sales.tax