Iowa

As every business owner knows, it's important to comply with local, state and federal tax laws. But compliance can be a challenge. It's not always easy to figure out what taxes are owed on which items, even if you sell goods in one state only. If you operate in multiple states, that can complicate matters exponentially. Tax rates and taxable item categories can vary considerably from state to state. Cities can also impose their own taxes on certain items and services. And sometimes, tax regulations just don't make much sense, which leads to confusion for business owners who are struggling to accurately collect taxes from customers. Here are seven examples of bizarre taxes found in states:

The warehouse is the last step in preparing a package before it lands in the hands of a customer. It's responsible for the last impression of the customer's overall buying experience. While this means it should be a key place to differentiate your brand's messaging, not many retailers recognize that order fulfillment represents an opportunity to capitalize on brand awareness. The fulfillment opportunity is responsible for the last impression of the customer's overall buying experience.

Walgreens on Monday launched its national Retail Employees with Disabilities Initiative (REDI), an in-store training program designed to help people with disabilities gain retail and customer service skills. Walgreens works closely with community organizations and vocational rehabilitation agencies to train and develop candidates. Another similar initiative at Walgreens’ distribution centers (DCs) resulted in 10 percent of the workforce being made up of people with disabilities at all levels across all 20 DCs. The company hopes to see the same success with REDI. 

1-800-Flowers.com announced the signing of a 45-store franchise development agreement for its Fannie May Fine Chocolates division with GB Chocolates. The agreement calls for 45 new Fannie May franchise stores beginning in December 2011, with all open and operating by year-end 2014.

_ FOREST CITY, Iowa, Oct. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Iowa-based e-commerce retailer of motorcycle apparel, D&K Ventures LLC, announced the launch of a new Web site today: www.CoolMoDeeMotorcycleGear.com. President of D&K Ventures LLC, Duane Moe, said, "My wife and I have been riding motorcycles our entire lives, and now that our children are old enough, they are too. Many of our products are necessities if you own a motorcycle, and we're excited to share them through the new Web site." CoolMoDeeMotorcycleGear.com was designed with both male and female motorcyclists in mind. The site offers a wide range of leather