If you focus on the “why” and not the “how” — Choose substance over forms The exemption certificate process is over-complicated by the archaic nature of paper-based forms. The digital systems for buying and selling goods no longer support existing “high-touch” exemption protocols. To that end, we created a digital exemption cert platform that helps buyers document why they are entitled to reduced taxation. The…

At least it shouldn’t have… for buyers — Everything written here is based on one premise: The Wayfair decision did not change taxation. I know, it sounds crazy. Hear me out. The 2018 US Supreme Court case about economic nexus, a conversation that elevates the blood pressure of tax professionals across the country (and around the world), did…

Being exempt shouldn’t destroy the customer experience. — As the spring semester gets underway, millions of college students are in need of a few textbooks for their classes. A generation ago that meant heading to the school bookstore, finding each class's requirements on a list, and scouring row after row for your books (stacked in what always felt…

The sign says it all. Beyond informing you that your location is changing, there is some history, an outline representing the shape of the state, and a self-deprecating slogan about the states’ diminutive footprint. Oh yeah, they added a sign inviting you to “screw” the state where you live out…

Can there really be 160,000 possible answers in the US? — As crazy as it sounds, that number is conservative. Logic tells you that the answer to that question should be simple, if not obvious. To determine taxability, the five questions we learned in elementary school should provide all the structure required. “How” is easy, if the item is taxable, the…

Is COVID an illness, or an opinion? — Just after midnight, a 24-year-old man was shot for unknown reasons. He was taken to the hospital before police arrived, with what were described as serious injuries. He walked to the car and was speaking with others as he sat himself down in the front seat. At 12:20 a.m., dispatchers…

Are COVID-19 visualizations unintentionally putting readers at risk? — As we collectively experience the COVID-19 pandemic, we are continuously inundated with more and more information. In response, millions of people have used visualizations and dashboards to identify patterns and differences. One of the first and most widely used COVID-19 dashboards was developed by John Hopkins (which I wrote about…

Can the success of COVID-19 dashboards be replicated in BI and analytics? — Post COVID-19, are dashboards finally poised for their big moment? Generalizations are dangerous, but I’m comfortable stating that as a planet we’ve never cared more about data than today, as we fight the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve been conditioned over the past decade for immediacy, and our constant connectivity drives us for feedback the moment we feel the urge for answers…