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Direct Mail Coalition Members
Direct Marketing Association
Mailing & Fulfillment Service Association
Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation
PIA/GATF (Regional affiliates)
- Association of Graphic Communications
- Graphic Arts Association
- Printing Industry of Minnesota
- PIA of the South
- Printing Industries of Illinois & Indiana
- Printing & Imaging Association of MidAmerica
- Printing Industries Association serving Northern Kentucky & Ohio
- Printing Industries of
New England
- Printing Industry of the Carolinas
- Printing & Imaging Association of New York State
- PI of the Midlands
- Printing & Imaging Assoc. Mountain States
- Printing Association of Florida
Association for Postal Commerce
Carlson Advisors LLC
Saturation Mailers Coalition
Tax Consultants/Coalition Managers
Melanie Hill, CPA, CMI
mchill@dlptax.com
864-241-2003
Nancy Drummond, CPA
ndrummond@dlptax.com
864-241-2135
301 N. Main St. Suite 2100
Greenville, SC 29601 |
July 26, 2006
The Direct Mail Coalition is formed to resolve certain printing and direct mail issues in the Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement (SSTA). The SSTA became legally operative in November 2005 when states representing 20% of the population enacted SSTA legislation. These states are shown in pink and blue; printers, mailers, advertising agencies and advertisers in these states are now subject to the provisions of the SSTA as interpreted by this consortium of states. The states shown in yellow are
participants in the SSTA but have not yet enacted the implementing legislation. As yellow states pass SSTA legislation, businesses in these states will become subject to the interpretations already established by the pink and blue states that are current members of the SSTA Governing Board. Many local businesses support the SSTA and are working within these states to eventually pass state and Federal SSTA legislation. While businesses in direct mail marketing are not the primary target of the national initiative, certain provisions in the SSTA will nonetheless immediately and directly affect them. The Coalition’s goals are to promote interpretations of the SSTA that are consistent with Uniform Commercial Code principles and are workable from a business perspective.
Goals of the Direct Mail Coalition:
- No taxation of postage.
- No taxation of mailing services when separately stated from printed material sales.
- Adoption of advertising agency rules that allow agencies to pay tax to printers rather than collect tax on the sale of the direct mail campaign to advertisers.
- No use tax on direct mail mailed from out-of-state by a remote vendor.
- No direct mail sourcing when title transfers prior to delivery to the USPS.
- Broad interpretation of Direct Mail if agreement is reached on the above.
- Add a printed material delivery exclusion definition to the Agreement.
The goals will be presented to the states as a package with Uniform Commercial Code principles. If you support even one of the above goals, the Coalition needs your commitment. What does it cost to become a Member? It depends on the size of your company based on 2005 gross revenue.
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Jumbo
Companies
>$300M
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Large
Companies
$300$100M
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Medium
Companies
$100$20M
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Small
Companies
<$20M
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Public Commitment Fee
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40,000
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6,000
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3,000
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1,000
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Credit for members of our trade association
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(4,000)
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(600)
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(300)
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(100)
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Reduced Commitment Fee for our members
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36,000
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5,400
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2,700
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900
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Consider these facts:
- As a printer, how much postage did you bill to your customers last year? If you had sales over $30,000,000 last year but only billed $500,000 in pass-through postage to your customers, the Coalition commitment fee would be re-couped in one year if these postage costs were taxed at 7.5%. While this may not be an out-of-pocket cost, taxes will eat into the size of the campaign and thus your profits if the direct mail campaign budget is set at a level to include all costs and taxes. Even a small printer could re-coup its $900 Coalition commitment fee if it only billed $12,000 in pass-through postage last year.
- How much revenue did you receive from providing mailing services in connection with the sale of printed material? A medium mailing house or printer would only need $36,000 in revenue from mailing services to re-coup the Coalition commitment fee against the higher price from taxation at 7.5% if it failed to collect tax on these services.
- Are you a catalog retailer? Chances are the Coalition commitment fee could be re-couped in tax savings from one direct mail campaign if states are allowed to impose use tax on mail distributed by remote vendors.
- Do you use a print broker or advertising agency? If the Coalition achieves its 3rd goal you will likely be able to pay tax on the printer’s charges and not on the charge by the broker or agent.
Coalition Members receive access to the Coalition’s confidential website which will contain survey data and tax information specific to printing and direct mail advertising.
Coalition Strategy:
- Submit to the SSTA Governing Board an interpretative ruling request applying Uniform Commercial Code principles to the direct mail provisions of the SSTA.
- Coalition Members will meet with each state on direct mail issues.
- Educate and recruit Members to the Coalition so we can effectively represent the direct mail industry.
For more information on the Direct Mail Coalition or to become a Member, please contact Melanie Hill or Nancy Drummond at 864/241-2001 or by email to mchill@dlptax.com or ndrummond@dlptax.com.
Joining the Direct Mail Coalition makes sense and the cents saved add up to real dollars.
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