1998 Minnesota Statutes

     297A.21 Registration to collect use tax. 

    Subdivision 1.    Retailer maintaining place of business 
 in Minnesota.  "Retailer maintaining a place of business in 
 this state", or any like term, shall mean any retailer having or 
 maintaining within this state, directly or by a subsidiary, an 
 office, place of distribution, sales or sample room or place, 
 warehouse, or other place of business, or having any 
 representative, agent, salesperson, canvasser, or solicitor 
 operating in this state under the authority of the retailer or 
 its subsidiary, for any purpose, including the repairing, 
 selling, delivering, installing, or soliciting of orders for the 
 retailer's goods or services, or the leasing of tangible 
 personal property located in this state, whether the place of 
 business or agent, representative, salesperson, canvasser, or 
 solicitor is located in the state permanently or temporarily, or 
 whether or not the retailer or subsidiary is authorized to do 
 business within this state. 

    Subd. 2.    Destination.  The destination of a sale is 
 the location to which the retailer makes delivery of the 
 property sold, or causes the property to be delivered, to the 
 purchaser of the property, or to the agent or designee of the 
 purchaser by any means of delivery, including the United States 
 Postal Service, a common carrier, or a contract carrier. 

    Subd. 3.    Out-of-state retailer maintaining place of 
 business in Minnesota.  A retailer making retail sales from 
 outside this state to a destination within this state and 
 maintaining a place of business in this state shall file an 
 application for a permit pursuant to section 297A.04 and shall 
 collect and remit the use tax as provided in section 297A.16. 

    Subd. 4.    Required registration by out-of-state retailer 
 not maintaining place of business in Minnesota.  (a) A 
 retailer making retail sales from outside this state to a 
 destination within this state and not maintaining a place of 
 business in this state shall file an application for a permit 
 pursuant to section 297A.04 and shall collect and remit the use 
 tax as provided in section 297A.16 if the retailer engages in 
 the regular or systematic soliciting of sales from potential 
 customers in this state by: 

    (1) the distribution, by mail or otherwise, without regard 
 to the state from which such distribution originated or in which 
 the materials were prepared, of catalogs, periodicals, 
 advertising flyers, or other written solicitations of business 
 to customers in this state; 

    (2) display of advertisements on billboards or other 
 outdoor advertising in this state; 

    (3) advertisements in newspapers published in this state; 

    (4) advertisements in trade journals or other periodicals 
 the circulation of which is primarily within this state; 

    (5) advertisements in a Minnesota edition of a national or 
 regional publication or a limited regional edition in which this 
 state is included of a broader regional or national publication 
 which are not placed in other geographically defined editions of 
 the same issue of the same publication; 

    (6) advertisements in regional or national publications in 
 an edition which is not by its contents geographically targeted 
 to Minnesota but which is sold over the counter in Minnesota or 
 by subscription to Minnesota residents; 

    (7) advertisements broadcast on a radio or television 
 station located in Minnesota; or 

    (8) any other solicitation by telegraphy, telephone, 
 computer database, cable, optic, microwave, or other 
 communication system. 

    (b) The location within or without this state of vendors 
 independent of the retailer which provide products or services 
 to the retailer in connection with its solicitation of customers 
 within this state, including such products and services as 
 creation of copy, printing, distribution, and recording, is not 
 to be taken into account in the determination of whether the 
 retailer is required to collect use tax.  Paragraph (a) shall be 
 construed without regard to the state from which distribution of 
 the materials originated or in which they were prepared.  

    (c) A retailer not maintaining a place of business in this 
 state shall be presumed, subject to rebuttal, to be engaged in 
 regular solicitation within this state if it engages in any of 
 the activities in paragraph (a) and (1) makes 100 or more retail 
 sales from outside this state to destinations within this state 
 during a period of 12 consecutive months, or (2) makes ten or 
 more retail sales totaling more than $100,000 from outside this 
 state to destinations within this state during a period of 12 
 consecutive months. 

    (d) A retailer not maintaining a place of business in this 
 state shall not be required to collect use tax imposed by any 
 local governmental unit or subdivision of this state and this 
 section does not subject such a retailer to any regulation of 
 any local unit of government or subdivision of this state.  

    Subd. 5.    Voluntary registration by out-of-state 
 retailer not maintaining place of business in Minnesota.  A 
 retailer making retail sales from outside this state to a 
 destination within this state who is not required to collect and 
 remit use tax may nevertheless voluntarily file an application 
 for a permit pursuant to section 297A.04.  If the application is 
 granted, the retailer shall collect and remit the use tax as 
 provided in section 297A.16 until the permit is canceled or 
 revoked. 

    Subd. 6.    Commissioner's discretion.  (a) The 
 commissioner may decline to issue a permit to any retailer not 
 maintaining a place of business in this state, or may cancel a 
 permit previously issued to the retailer, if the commissioner 
 believes that the use tax can be collected more effectively from 
 the persons using the property in this state.  A refusal to 
 issue or cancellation of a permit on such grounds does not 
 affect the retailer's right to make retail sales from outside 
 this state to destinations within this state. 

    (b) When, in the opinion of the commissioner, it is 
 necessary for the efficient administration of sections 297A.14 
 to 297A.25 to regard a salesperson, representative, trucker, 
 peddler, or canvasser as the agent of the dealer, distributor, 
 supervisor, employer, or other person under whom that person 
 operates or from whom the person obtains the tangible personal 
 property sold, whether making sales personally or in behalf of 
 that dealer, distributor, supervisor, employer, or other person 
 the commissioner may regard the salesperson, representative, 
 trucker, peddler, or canvasser as such agent, and may regard the 
 dealer, distributor, supervisor, employer, or other person as a 
 retailer for the purposes of sections 297A.14 to 297A.25. 

    HIST: Ex1967 c 32 art 13 s 21; 1969 c 915 s 3; 1986 c 444; 
 1988 c 719 art 10 s 6; 1989 c 277 art 1 s 17; 1991 c 291 art 8 s 
 13,14; 1992 c 511 art 8 s 13; 1996 c 471 art 9 s 5