Category Archives: Taxes

Kitsap businesses enjoyed record-setting fourth quarter sales

The fourth quarter of 2014 was kind to Kitsap County retailers.

Taxable sales across all industries in Kitsap were up 4.26 percent in October, November and December of 2014, compared with the same months of 2013.

Retail trade sales (sales made by traditional stores, dealerships, etc.) were up 5.56 percent, according to numbers released Monday by the state Department of Revenue.

Retailers posting the largest revenue gains in 2014 included auto dealers, drug stores, building material sellers, home furnishing stores and e-commerce enterprises.

More impressive than the year-over-year gains, sales in the fourth quarter of 2014 actually topped pre-recession highs:

With the fourth quarter numbers in the books, we can see how 2014 stacked up against previous retail years. While retail trade sales have rebounded from the recession, other industries are still catching up:

Avalara’s McFarlane named ‘CEO of the Year’

Bainbridge Island-based Avalara has been making waves lately, and the tech world has taken notice.

News site GeekWire named Avalara executive Scott McFarlane “CEO of the Year” at its 2015 awards ceremony last week.

The site noted the $100 million investment Avalara recently received, which spurred even more growth at the 800-employee business.

According to GeekWire, McFarlane studied economics at Claremont McKenna College in California, and founded a fitness equipment company with his college roommate. He’s been with Avalara since its founding in 2004.

“I might be the luckiest person on earth,” McFarlane said in his acceptance speech. “I have great investors and great Avalarians that bleed orange every single day. This is for you guys.”

Avalara specializes in sales tax compliance software.

Retail sales continued to climb in 2014

shoopersWe now have retail sales data for the first three quarters of 2014, and the numbers are looking good.

Taxable sales across all industries were 7.5 percent higher during the third quarter of 2014 than during the same months of 2013, according to a report from the Department of Revenue.

Retail trade sales (sales made by traditional stores, dealerships, online sellers, etc.) were up by 5.7 percent.

This was the first quarter taxable sales for recreational marijuana were included in DOR’s report. Those totaled about $1.5 million in Kitsap for all of 2014.

We’ll find out how retailers faired during the holiday season, and 2014 as a whole, when fourth quarter numbers are released this summer.

Here are charts showing sales over the first three quarters of 2014, as well as longterm sales trends in the county:

Graphic: Recreational marijuana sales in 2014

The state’s legalized pot industry began to bear fruit in 2014.

The newly-licensed recreational marijuana businesses grossed $65.4 million by the end of the year, generating more than $16 million in excise taxes.

Here’s a graphical look at how Kitsap’s recreational marijuana industry faired during its first few months in existence:

Corrected statewide marijuana sales numbers. Earlier numbers listed included 2015.

Free tax help available across Kitsap

The Super Bowl is over, which must mean it’s tax time.

As in years past, a small army of volunteers is fanning out across Kitsap to provide free income tax help.

The Tax-Aide program, a joint effort of IRS and AARP, will have stations in Bremerton, Kingston, Port Orchard and Silverdale, and on Bainbridge Island. The service is available to people of all ages.

Volunteers can help tax payers prepare and file their returns, or just answer questions. They’re trained on most the tax law changes for 2014.

Full details, including times and dates for the various assistance locations, are posted below. You can download the PDF or print it out and stick it on your fridge:

Kitsap retailers enjoying banner year

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This year is shaping up to the best ever for retail trade sales in Kitsap County.

Traditional retailers (shops, dealerships, etc.) recorded more taxable sales in the second quarter of 2014 than they did over the same period in 2006 or 2007, before the recession slide began.

Sales in the first quarter of 2014 also topped pre-recession levels. Combined retail trade sales in the first half of 2014 were about 2 percent higher than in 2007.

The county nearly bested pre-recession sales records in 2013, but came up just short. Sales in the second quarter of 2014 improved by 5.9 percent from the same period in 2013.

Growth in retail trade sales were on par with the state as a whole, which posted a 5.4 percent increase over the same period, according to the Department of Revenue.

This chart compares Kitsap retail trade sales by quarter for 2014 with 2007 (the pre-recession high) and 2009 (the rocky bottom of the recession).

 

Sales in all industries

The picture is still positive but a little less bright when you factor in sales made in industries outside traditional retail.

Sales in fields like construction, hospitality and manufacturing are growing, but they haven’t caught up with pre-recession levels yet. Those industries outside traditional retail posted 5 percent higher sales in the second quarter of 2014 than in 2013.

The chart below looks at second quarter retail trade sales and sales in other industries over the past decade. It shows the rebound of traditional retail and the steady recovery of taxable sales overall:

$100M investment announced by Avalara

gI_113668_PrimaryLogo_Tagline_RGB_Bainbridge Island sales tax software firm Avalara announced a $100 million investment Monday.

The injection of capital came from an affiliate of private equity firm Warburg Pincus, according to a news release.

“This investment by Warburg Pincus will allow us to put more dollars to work in our growth initiatives,” Avalara founder and CEO Scott McFarlane said in the announcement. “It also validates our fundamental belief that sales tax compliance automation is inevitable, and Avalara is at the forefront of this movement.”

According to the release, the company’s growth plans include international expansion and strategic acquisitions. Including the investment by Warburg Pincus, Avalara has raised more than $200 million since 2004.

Avalara provides cloud-based software that helps companies comply with complex sales tax requirements. The company’s headquarters are located in the Island Gateway development, near Highway 305.

According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, the Warburg Pincus investment comes amid rumors Avalara could go public.

Follow business reporter Tad Sooter on Twitter at @tsooter. Contact him at tad.sooter@kitsapsun.com or leave a comment below.

Volunteer tax helpers needed

 

blog.taxhelpAARP Foundation Tax-Aide is looking for volunteers to provide free tax help during the upcoming income tax season.

You don’t need to be an AARP member or have an accounting degree to pitch in. Training will be provided for volunteers of all experience levels.

Here’s the full notice:

Looking for a rewarding opportunity to make a difference in Kitsap County? 

 AARP Foundation Tax-Aide — the nation’s largest free tax preparation and assistance service — is now seeking volunteers for the 2014 tax season. You don’t have to be an AARP member to volunteer and you don’t have to have any experience doing taxes. You just have to have a desire to help your neighbors.

 Tax volunteers receive free tax training in December and January, in association with the IRS. Once trained, they work a few hours a week from late January through mid-April, interacting with clients by filling out tax returns. Even if you don’t have accounting or tax preparation experience, becoming a tax volunteer may be right for you, if you have a knack for working with numbers.

 To volunteer, go to www.aarp.org/taxvolunteer. About half way down the page you will see “Become a Volunteer for Tax Aide”. Fill out the on-line application.

Get the joy and satisfaction of helping others by applying to join the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide volunteer team today. Your expertise will be appreciated more than you can imagine.

Creating a nonprofit just got easier

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If you’ve been procrastinating on registering a charity as a nonprofit, your dilly-dallying is now justified.

The Internal Revenue Service just announced a streamlined process for applying for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. The new Form 1023-EZ cuts the standard Form 1023 from 26 pages to three pages.

Up to 70 percent of charities qualify to use the EZ form, according to an IRS news release. Most groups with $50,000 or less in gross receipts and less than $250,000 in assets will be eligible.

The idea behind the form is to free up resources dedicated to approving small, simple charities, so more resources can be dedicated to reviewing larger, more complex organizations. The IRS has a backlog of about 60,000 501(c)(3) applications, with wait times of up to nine months.

“Previously, all of these groups went through the same lengthy application process — regardless of size,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in the release. “It didn’t matter if you were a small soccer or gardening club or a major research organization. This process created needlessly long delays for groups, which didn’t help the groups, the taxpaying public or the IRS.”

The Form 1023-EZ must be filed through pay.gov with a $400 user fee. Download this PDF for full details.

Photo: Lisa Horn of West Sound Wildlife Shelter releases a bald eagle. (Brad Camp / Olympic Photo Group)