Accounts payable professionals may have to start re-writing their sales and use tax policies as more states begin charging sales tax on online purchases.

Currently, 12 states have passed so-called "Amazon" laws designed to expand the definition of nexus to make more online purchases subject to sales tax. These states are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas and Vermont.

Happy New Year! This is the time of year when we evaluate our shortcomings and strive to improve. While this practice is usually associated with our personal lives, there is no reason why you can't apply it to working in accounts payable. AP organizations should always be looking for ways to work more efficiently and inexpensively.

The IRS has released the optional standard mileage rates for 2012, which look very similar to the rates established for the second half of 2011.

Beginning Jan 1, 2012, the standard mileage rates for the business use of a car (including vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be: :

• 55.5 cents per mile for business miles driven;
• 23 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes; and
• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations.

While the overall spend that organizations put on their purchasing cards continues to grow every year, benchmark data shows that the growth is slowing. In addition, the percentage of organizations that have implemented p-card programs has remained essentially unchanged for the last two years.

However, this data is far from a sign that p-cards are on the way out. In fact, the opposite is true. P-cards are now a mainstay in a majority of accounts payable departments and the slowdown speaks more to the explosive growth seen during the past decade.

Q: Is a settlement payment reportable if the payment is going to the attorney and an individual? And do we put it under the attorney's tax ID number? Are all settlements reportable no matter whom they are paid to?

A: A settlement payment naming both the attorney and the individual on the check is reportable to both attorney and individual. On the attorney's 1099, the amount goes in box 14 and yes, it goes to the attorney with the attorney's tax ID number.

On Nov. 3, 2011, the DOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published interim final rules on “Procedures for Handling of Retaliation Complaints Under Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 as Amended.” While the intention is for these rules to be final, the DOL is asking for additional comments until Jan. 3, 2012.

Communication is vital to all business operations. Effective communication within your organization positively affects communication outside – the two are connected. In accounts payable, effective internal communication involves ensuring that other business units understand the AP process. According to Tom Nichols, President, Process Management Improvement Inc. and TAPN advisor, problems often arise because of a communication breakdown between business units and AP.

The Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee (IRPAC) hopes to secure a zero hour delay of purchasing card reporting requirements for merchant banks and third party payment networks as well as changes to government contractor withholding.

IRPAC was formed in 1991 in order "to provide a public forum for the IRS and members of the information reporting community in the private sector to discuss relevant information reporting issues," according to the IRS web site.

Repealing soon-to-be-enacted tax legislation seems to have become the modus operandi for lawmakers. A resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives seeks to repeal the upcoming government contractor withholding requirements.

On Oct. 13, 2011, the House Ways and Means Committee passed HR 647. The goal of the resolution is to overturn Section 3402(t), which requires federal and state governments to withhold 3 percent on most contractor payments beginning Jan. 1, 2013.

The Internal Revenue Service has reinstated the high-low substantiation method for per diem reimbursements. If your organization uses the high-low method, then you can continue to do so.