Marketplace Collection Laws Present Unique Challenges for the Restaurant Industry

The pandemic has changed the physical and economic environment in which restaurants operate. Although food delivery has long been popular for certain types of food, pandemic restrictions and consumer preferences hastened the expansion of food delivery for almost all food and meals. Food delivery can be done either through the restaurant itself or through unrelated third-party online food delivery services. 

Restaurants without pre-pandemic infrastructure for deliveries are now increasingly relying on regional or national online or app-based food delivery services. Delivery, particularly through these online food delivery services, unearth new challenges for restaurants’ compliance with state sales tax laws. 

A. Marketplace Collection LawsMarketplace collection or “marketplace facilitator” laws require that certain marketplaces—such as online platforms connecting retailers with customers—collect and remit sales tax on behalf of the retailers or restaurants (marketplace…