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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 6, 2020 02:05 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Jim Cox |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Flexibility for Charitable Organizations |
| . In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation that would provide added flexibility for charitable, volunteer fire or religious organizations or non-profit educational institutions that hold fundraising sales which are potentially subject to PA Sales and Use Tax (SUT) remittance. Under current law, isolated transactions are not subject to SUT, and the Department of Revenue (DOR) regulations outline a specific exemption for isolated sales that are made by a charitable, volunteer fire or religious organization, or a non-profit education institution for fundraising activities. The current regulations allow these entities to be exempt from charging and remitting SUT on otherwise taxable property so long as the sale or series of sales is not conducted more than three times or more than a total of seven days in a year. Recently, a charitable organization in my district that accepts donations of secondhand clothing for resale to members of our local community, reached out about a predicament related to the current DOR regulations surrounding isolated sales. This organization holds two sales per year lasting three days each, thus resulting in just under the maximum allowed under current regulation. To enable them to expand their services to the community, the organization is seeking to conduct a modest number of additional sales without facing the burden of obtaining a sales tax license. It is my belief that these types of organizations should not be hindered by the daunting task of obtaining a sales tax license as is required of other traditional vendors. My legislation would therefore amend the Tax Reform Code of 1971 to extend the current time limitation, allowing these eligible organizations to operate without the worry or burden of collecting and remitting SUT, so long as the fundraising sale or series of sales is conducted six or less times or 14 or less total days in a calendar year. I respectfully ask for your consideration to join me in co-sponsoring this important piece of legislation that will assist our local charitable and volunteer organizations who provide an invaluable service to our local communities. . |