There’s one thing that owners of U.S.-based online stores tend to overlook: sales tax isn’t a federal tax—it’s a state tax. Each state sets its own rules, and those rules change every year. In 2026, several more states changed their thresholds, leading to more people falling into these traps than in previous years. This article avoids technical jargon and simply explains: in which states you actually have to pay sales tax, how to pay it, and which payments are most likely to be overlooked.

Owners of Douyin and Taobao stores have recently been asking the same question: Has the fixed-rate taxation system been eliminated, and will all businesses now be subject to audit-based taxation? The answer isn’t that straightforward, but regulations have indeed tightened in 2026, with e-commerce businesses being the primary focus. Today, we’ll thoroughly explain the differences between ”audit-based taxation” and ”fixed-rate taxation” so you’ll know exactly how to pay your taxes and which tax incentives you can still take advantage of.

In 2026, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was buzzing with activity. In the first half of the year, 84 new listings raised HK$208 billion—double the amount from the same period the previous year—ranking second globally, trailing only the Nasdaq; on July 9, seven companies went public simultaneously, setting a peak for the year. It’s not uncommon to see posts on social media saying, ”I got three IPOs today.” But this wave is different from the ”close-your-eyes-and-subscribe” frenzy of 2020–2021.

On August 17, 2026, the withholding module of the Electronic Tax Bureau for Individuals quietly rolled out a major update—a permanent pop-up alert and blocking mechanism for income information related to ”zero declarations for three consecutive months” of wages and salaries. This means that the system now strictly blocks the practice of ”routine zero reporting” for former employees or during periods of inactivity—a practice that was previously common among businesses. This is not just an ordinary feature upgrade, but the first substantive implementation of the ”data linkage and preemptive risk control” principles from the Golden Tax Phase IV initiative in the individual income tax sector. As soon as the news broke, finance groups across the country were abuzz with questions: How exactly should companies handle consecutive zero-declarations? What about former employees who haven’t filed zero declarations?

In August 2026, a document titled ”Guidelines for Tax Audits in the Second Half of 2026” drew significant attention in financial and tax circles. The document clearly states that from August through December 2026, the overarching approach to tax audits nationwide will be ”data-driven tax administration, multi-agency joint audits, and end-to-end verification.” Data from six departments—tax, police, banking, customs, medical insurance, and market regulation—has been fully integrated. Random spot checks have been replaced by targeted, industry-specific crackdowns. Four major categories of tax-related violations—fraudulent invoicing, off-the-books income, improper use of tax incentives, and concealment of funds—have been designated as the top priorities for enforcement throughout the year. More importantly, Phase IV of the Golden Tax Project has shifted the focus of oversight from ”auditing accounts” to “auditing individuals”—