Background:

Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement:

In 2007, Washington enacted legislation to conform to the national streamlined sales and use tax agreement (SSUTA). The legislation took effect on July 1, 2008. The SSUTA is a voluntary multi-state effort to simplify and modernize sales and use tax administration for member states in order to substantially reduce the burden of tax compliance. Currently, 24 states are members of the agreement. The agreement focuses on improving sales and use tax administration systems for all sellers and for all types of commerce through all of the following:

state-level administration of sales and use tax collections,
uniformity in the state and local tax bases,
uniformity of major tax base definitions,
central electronic registration system for all member states,
simplification of state and local tax rates,
uniform sourcing rules for all taxable transactions,
simplified administration of exemptions,
simplified tax returns and tax remittances, and
protection of consumer privacy.

One of the biggest changes for Washington regarding SSUTA implementation was the change to destination sourcing. Sourcing refers to the determination of where a sale occurs for the purposes of assigning state and local sales and use taxes. Prior to July 1, 2008, the date when Washington's SSUTA's conforming legislation took effect, sales were sourced based on the location from which merchandise was shipped. Beginning on July 1, 2008, retailers delivering goods in Washington began collecting sales tax based on where the customer receives the merchandise.

Qualifying Florists:

A person whose primary business activity (more than 50 percent of gross sales) is the retailing of fresh cut flowers, floral arrangements, floral bouquets, wreaths, potted ornamental plants and similar products that are not used for landscaping purposes, qualifies as a florist. Sales by qualifying florists are sourced to the location at or from which delivery is made to the customer. Frequently, this will be the florist’s store location.

For qualifying florists who take an order from a customer and then give that order to a second florist for delivery, the place of origin continues to be the location of the florist who originally took the customer’s order. This type of transaction is typically carried out using the Florists’ Transworld Delivery Association (FTD) or another floral network service.

Other Businesses that Sell Floral Products:

A business does not qualify as a florist if their retail sales of cut flowers, floral arrangements, floral bouquets, wreaths, potted ornamental plants and similar products are 50 percent or less of their total sales. A business that is not a qualifying florist must use destination sourcing to determine the applicable sales tax. They must collect sales tax and code their retail transactions to the location where the goods are delivered. This is true even if the person uses FTD or another floral network service to receive orders from or forward orders to other network florists.