DTC Podcast

Bonus: Are You Skating on Your Sales Tax Compliance? Simplify Sales Tax with Avalara's Meg Higgins

Nov 20, 2024

Meg Higgins, SVP of Global Partnerships at Avalara, is a sales tax compliance guru with over a decade of experience in SaaS. She discusses the challenges of navigating over 13,000 tax jurisdictions and why automated solutions are crucial for DTC brands. Meg highlights the latest changes in marketplace compliance laws and shares practical examples of tax pitfalls from the world of e-commerce. Her insights reveal how Avalara helps brands simplify global sales tax, ultimately minimizing risk and saving significant time.

28:52

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Episode guests

Meg Higgins

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Businesses must proactively address sales tax compliance complexities, as retroactive solutions can lead to substantial audit risks and costs.

Avalara's automated tools streamline tax compliance for merchants, significantly reducing the risk of miscalculations across diverse jurisdictions and marketplaces.

Deep dives

Global Accessibility and Compliance Challenges

Having an online business opens the opportunity for global sales, but it also introduces significant compliance challenges for merchants. As these businesses expand, particularly post-COVID, they must navigate complex tax regulations that vary by country and region. The challenge grows with the need for multi-channel sales, as relying on a single sales method becomes impractical and invites tax issues. It’s crucial for merchants to address compliance proactively to avoid audit risks later, as retroactive solutions can be much more difficult and costly.

Intro

2min

Navigating Cross-Border E-Commerce and Tax Solutions

2min

Navigating Cross-Border Tax Compliance for E-Commerce

2min

Navigating Sales Tax Compliance

12min

Navigating Marketplace Tax Compliance

5min

Navigating Sales Tax Compliance in E-Commerce

6min

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Welcome to the DTC Podcast, where Eric interviews Meg Higgins from Avalara. With over 10 years in the SaaS space, Meg has focused her career on cross-border e-commerce, empowering mid-market and growing DTC brands to navigate the complexity of sales tax compliance. As Avalara’s SVP of Global Partnerships, she explains how Avalara’s tax compliance solutions help brands mitigate risk with automated, scalable solutions. This episode delves into the risks brands face when ignoring proper tax calculation and why Avalara’s tools are a game-changer for those scaling rapidly.

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Key Takeaways:

Sales Tax Complexities: With over 13,000 tax jurisdictions, Avalara helps businesses avoid costly tax miscalculations.

Marketplaces and Compliance: Avalara supports marketplace sellers by automating tax obligations, which is crucial given changing marketplace facilitator laws.

Reducing Risk with Automation: Avalara’s API-integrated tools automate tax compliance, saving brands time and reducing audit exposure.

Avalara for Shopify: Avalara for Shopify supports merchants by automating tax obligations, helping Shopify users stay compliant with ease as they grow.

Practical Examples: From bagel slicing to chocolate bars, small tax nuances can add up—hear real-world tax pitfalls and how Avalara helps brands avoid them.

Timestamps

0:00 - Introduction to Avalara’s Role in Global Compliance

2:10 - Complexities of Cross-Border E-Commerce Compliance

4:50 - Understanding Economic Nexus and Marketplace Facilitation Laws

7:25 - Biggest Tax Compliance Mistakes for Growing DTC Brands

10:15 - Avalara’s Tools and Partnerships for Streamlining Compliance

12:30 - Future Tax Compliance Trends for E-Commerce

Hashtags

#DTCpodcast #EcommerceCompliance #TaxCompliance #CrossBorderEcommerce #MarketplaceFacilitation #SalesTax #EconomicNexus #OnlineBusiness #Avalara #EcommerceTips #TaxAutomation #GlobalBusiness #Shopify #SaaS #EcommerceTrends #BusinessGrowth

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