While only 11 states and D.C. allow direct-to-consumer (DtC) beer shipping, more than half of Americans ages 21+ (51%) would purchase more craft beer if they were able to have it shipped directly to their home. In this blog, we discuss the top three reasons why craft beer drinkers want beer sent directly to them via third-party shipping. One of the key findings of the recently released 2024 Direct-to-Consumer Beer Shipping Report is the strong desire among Americans to have the option of purchasing craft beer directly from breweries and having it shipped to their homes. This is particularly tr ..read more

2024 is shaping up to be a banner year for legislative efforts related to the direct-to-consumer (DtC) shipping of beverage alcohol. While these proposed laws span a range of legal issues, the primary driver of the bills is expanding access to the DtC market for beer and spirits producers. Currently, 47 states and D.C. permit DtC shipping by domestic wine producers—but only eleven and eight states do so for beer and spirits, respectively. As the DtC wine shipping market has blossomed over the years into a $4 billion annual market, it is no wonder that the beer and spirits industries would be v ..read more

On the second Wednesday of each month, Sovos experts host a 30-minute webinar, Water Cooler Wednesday, to share the latest updates on statutory filings. In March, Sarah Stubbs shared information about the many filings due after March 1, from Market Conduct Annual Statements to health supplements for P&C and life insurers writing A&H businesses and more.  This blog will serve as a revisiting of some reminders for the post-March 1 filings that many companies must contend with. LTC Insurance Experience Reporting  Writers of long-term care (LTC) coverage need to file the LTC Expe ..read more

Direct-to-consumer (DtC) shipping has become one of the leading sales models for businesses of all sizes and in all markets. The idea of connecting directly with consumers is notably attractive, as it helps brands develop a personal relationship and avoid costly distribution chains. Yet, for all its popularity, DtC is often a hard concept to define, especially within the beverage alcohol industry. For producers and suppliers of beverage alcohol products, the lack of clarity around what DtC means and where and how it can be done can lead to real problems if they try to do something that even ap ..read more

This March, Sovos ShipCompliant released the fourth annual Direct-to-Consumer Beer Shipping Report in partnership with the Brewers Association. The DtC beer shipping report features exclusive insights on the regulatory state of the direct-to-consumer (DtC) channel, Brewers Association’s perspective and key data from a consumer preferences survey. Let’s take a deeper dive into some of the findings from the report. The regulatory state of 2024 DtC beer shipping Despite several states introducing bills to expand DtC beer shipping in 2023, none of them were adopted. As of the report’s publication ..read more

For the past few weeks back, my colleagues and I have been talking a lot about the importance of a global strategy when it comes to addressing today’s modern tax environments. On the heels of Sovos introducing the Sovos Compliance Cloud, many in our company’s leadership team have blogged about related topics and the critical global tax compliance issues that are impacting businesses all over the world. Our CEO Kevin Akeroyd wrote about the global business landscape, tax compliance and why the market was ready for an integrated approach to reporting and transaction compliance. My colleague Stev ..read more

Florida wine lovers could soon enjoy a bigger selection of bottles based on a recent bill passed by the state’s legislature (HR 583) that would remove the existing cap on wine bottle sizes. What is Florida’s HR 583 bill? Currently, Florida law prohibits the sale of wine in bottles larger than one gallon (a little over three liters), unless it is sold in a 5.16 gallon (20 liter) reusable container. As such, Florida consumers looking to enjoy a larger format wine or spice up a party by bringing along a Nebuchadnezzar have been out of luck. This restriction applies to both wines sold in Florida s ..read more

Unbeknownst to many issuers of 1099 and other information returns, Form 15397 Application for Extension of Time to Furnish Recipient Statements was debuted by the IRS in November 2023 and was required to be submitted by filers requesting an extension of time (EOT) for 2023 recipient statements. However, the IRS did not communicate the changes to the EOT process to the industry and most issuers likely continued to follow the legacy process. Conflicts in IRS instructions for 2023 and 2024 Recipient statements are due to be issued on a variety of deadlines spanning from January through May d ..read more

A couple weeks back, Sovos introduced the Sovos Compliance Cloud. The industry’s first and only solution that unifies tax compliance and regulatory reporting software in one platform, providing a holistic data system of record for global compliance. Accompanying this launch, our CEO Kevin Akeroyd wrote about the global landscape of tax compliance and why the market was ready for this type of solution. Recently, my colleague Steve Sprague, our chief product and strategy officer, wrote about the five steps to modern compliance and why they are critical for your business. As a chief technology of ..read more

When most people think about “taxes” it’s likely that their thoughts first turn to “direct taxes.” However, in today’s economy, “indirect taxes” are becoming increasingly important in funding state and local governments. Indirect tax is also becoming increasingly complex, especially for businesses charged with meeting their indirect tax compliance obligations globally. In this article, we will discuss the differences between direct and indirect taxes, why indirect tax is growing in importance, and the fundamentals of indirect tax compliance. Direct versus indirect tax Indirect taxes are those ..read more