Sales tax always has been, and always will be, an integral part of compliance for wineries, especially for those shipping direct-to-consumer (DtC). In recent years the standards for determining who is obligated to collect sales tax and at what rates has changed due to evolving legislation like the Supreme Court case South Dakota v. Wayfair.
When a winery wants to ship wine DtC to a particular state, it must obtain a shipping license or permit for that state. This becomes more complicated if the state requires a winery to “voluntarily” accept a sales tax obligation in order to receive the DtC shipping license. Since DtC shipping circumvents retail stores—where sales tax would normally be collected, the state can still ensure their revenue with this requirement.
Source: SOVOS
