5 Sales & Use Tax Tips You Can Learn From Britney Spears

You just read that right – SALES TAX & BRITNEY SPEARS! Those that know me, know I’m a fan…. how could you not be? Please don’t even humor me with your response…I get it.

While you all have shrugged off my girl over the last 15 years, I’ve been taking note of the Sales & Use Tax Tips I learned from Brit Brit!

1. Through two failed marriages, a custody battle and an emotional breakdown (which included a shaved head, and an umbrella attack), Britney has made a spectacular comeback by placing her trust in her parents. Businesses struggling to determine if they have sales tax nexus, what is taxable and how to report taxes should leave the sales and use tax to someone they can trust – TaxConnex. We have the experience, we have the knowledge and we speak the jurisdictions’ language, so when your business has ups and downs and you find yourself in a sales & use tax or excise quandary, call someone you can trust – TaxConnex!

2. In a January 2009, Glamour Magazine cover story, Britney discussed her despise for going to the gym to maintain her “artist” figure. Her response about going to the gym reads, “It isn’t fun [for me], so to do it every day would be horrible.” How does this apply to sales tax? 85% of people worldwide (that’s not a scientific poll) have no interest in sales & use tax – it’s not fun for them and to do it every day really is horrible. Leave sales & use tax compliance to the people who find it “fun” – TaxConnex! We’ve worked in the Big 4, industry, and various sales tax outsourcing centers. We thrive on problem solving, tax legislation, compliance, and audit defense, and we can work on it for you every day so you don’t have to!

3. It’s like our parents used to say, “You are who you hang with.” During her 2007 emotional breakdown, Britney was flanked with people from all parts of the entertainment industry. While many were “nice,” most were using Britney by telling her whatever she wanted to hear, spending her money, and guiding her into one bad situation after another. Promises made during the sales process of “full automation” and “reduced notices” fade away within a year and the reality of poor service, no accountability, high notice counts, and jurisdictional issues becomes the norm. TaxConnex offers boutique service. We commit to ongoing communication with our clients, a ceasefire on assessment notices, and a 100% reference rate.

4. Trust is like a New Year’s Resolution – each time you break it, it becomes harder and harder to keep up the façade. In the same January 2009, Glamour Magazine article Britney was asked about her New Year’s Resolutions, Britney indicated that she doesn’t care for them, because she keeps breaking them. Similar to Britney’s actions, some outsourcing service providers will set expectations and make promises that are eventually broken. Does your current outsource provider make promises that they can’t keep? How often do you have to discuss expectations and disappointments? Maintaining a vendor relationship shouldn’t be difficult and if you cannot provide a reference for your vendor, then perhaps it is time to shop the competition. Care to find out how we can help you?

5. Off her 2011 Album, Femme Fatale, Britney’s song “Till the World Ends” has no lyrical symbolism to Sales & Use tax, however, the title “Till the World Ends” speaks volumes about taxes. Taxes are here forever; in fact, some say it’s the only sure thing besides death.   So if you are going to be stuck managing sales and use tax until the world ends, you might as well engage in a relationship with a vendor, like TaxConnex, who places priority on your business’s needs. Whether it’s a custom lunch and learn for your department, a consulting workshop for CPE credits, a nexus study, or helping you solve a big sales and use tax issue, we are here to help!

See, you didn’t think you could learn anything about sales tax from Britney. But if you’re focused on it and think about it all day, every day, you can find sales tax lessons in the most obscure places.

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