Court Rules that Florida Department of Revenue Impermissibly Burdened Interstate Commerce in Violation of US Constitution
Yesterday, in American Business USA Corp. v. Department of Revenue, the Fourth District Court of Appeal for Florida ruled that the Florida Department of Revenue could not impose sales tax on sales of flowers and other tangible personal property made by a Florida corporation over the internet to out-of-state customers for out-of-state delivery. The taxpayer would use “local florists” to fill the out-of-state orders, and so the flowers and other inventory items were never stored in or brought into Florida. The court concluded that the sales did not have “substantial nexus” with Florida, and therefore imposing tax on the sales violated the dormant commerce clause of the US Constitution.