State & Local
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May 17, 2024
Ark. High Court Nixes $35M Hotel Tax Bill On Travel Cos.
An Arkansas circuit court erred in finding that online travel companies such as Hotels.com and Expedia were on the hook for $35 million in unpaid hotel taxes, the state's Supreme Court ruled, finding that a decades-old tax statute didn't apply to them.
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May 17, 2024
Md. Allows County To Add Excise Tax On Telecom Services
Maryland will authorize the state's second-most populous county to impose an excise tax on telecommunications services in addition to the county's sales and use tax on such services under a bill signed by the governor.
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May 17, 2024
Ohio School Board Can't Appeal Property Value To Court
An Ohio school board is prohibited from appealing a board of revision's valuation of a property that the school board didn't own to a court of common pleas, a state appeals court ruled.
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May 17, 2024
Mo. Lawmakers OK Fee Carveout For Streaming, Satellite Cos.
Missouri would exempt streaming and satellite TV companies from local franchise fees that cable companies pay under a bill headed to the governor's desk after the state House of Representatives gave its approval Friday.
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May 17, 2024
Missouri Bill To Ban St. Louis Teleworker Tax Fails To Pass
A push by Missouri lawmakers to prevent St. Louis from imposing its earnings tax on remote workers stalled Friday for the fourth consecutive year when the state Senate adjourned for the year without giving the proposal final approval.
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May 17, 2024
Judge Sets Hearing For Delay In Hunter Biden's Tax Trial
A California federal judge agreed Friday to consider Hunter Biden's request to push back his $1.4 million criminal tax trial, setting a hearing to address his claim that the dates interfere with his Delaware gun trial and threaten to prevent him from getting a fair shake.
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May 17, 2024
Md. Urges Court To Nix Google's Digital Ad Tax Challenge
Google's challenge to Maryland's digital ad tax should be summarily thrown out because the federal law cited by the company in its case is itself unconstitutional, whereas the tax is constitutionally sound, Maryland's comptroller told the state's tax court.
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May 17, 2024
Kansas Gov. Vetoes Tax Omnibus, Calls For Special Session
Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has vetoed three tax bills, one of which would have restructured the state's income tax brackets and made other tax changes, saying the plan was too costly for the state.
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May 17, 2024
RI General Revenue Through April Exceeds Forecast By $6M
Rhode Island's total general revenue from July through April was $6 million higher than budget estimates, according to a report by the state's Department of Revenue.
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May 17, 2024
Kan. Tax Collection Through April Up $316M From Last Year
Kansas' total tax revenue collected from July through April grew $316 million from the previous fiscal year, according to a monthly report by the state Department of Revenue.
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May 17, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Wachtell Lipton, Freshfields
In this week's Taxation with Representation, Nippon Life acquires Corebridge Financial, Crescent Energy buys SilverBow Resources and Uber purchases Foodpanda.
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May 17, 2024
Virgin Islands Silent 2 Years On $1.1M Tax Refund, Court Told
A man living on the island of St. Thomas claims he requested a tax refund of more than $1.1 million from the U.S. Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue more than two years ago and still hasn't heard back, according to a complaint in federal court.
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May 16, 2024
Pact's Biz Group Drops W.Va. Streaming Tax Compliance Fight
The Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board's business group on Thursday dropped its allegations that West Virginia's tax on streaming services threw it out of compliance with the interstate tax simplification compact that the board oversees.
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May 16, 2024
NJ Lets Some School Districts Hike Property Taxes Above Cap
New Jersey will allow school districts that experienced cuts in state school aid to request increases in local property tax levies above previously permitted amounts without voter approval under a bill signed by Gov. Phil Murphy.
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May 16, 2024
Calif. Digital Tax Clears Key Hurdle, Will Go To Full Senate
A bill calling for California to levy its 7.25% state sales and use tax on large online companies with digital advertising revenue above $2.5 billion passed a key Senate committee Thursday and will go to the full state Senate.
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May 16, 2024
Tax Pact Votes Down Nexus Recommendation For Gross Sales
A proposed recommendation from the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board for states to use gross sales to measure whether a remote seller crossed a state's economic nexus threshold fell two votes shy of final approval Thursday.
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May 16, 2024
Colo. To Charge Oil, Gas Fees Based On Spot Prices
Colorado will levy new fees on oil and gas producers based on the spot price of a barrel of oil or natural gas under legislation signed into law Thursday by Gov. Jared Polis.
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May 16, 2024
CBRE Biz's Software Liable For NY Sales Tax, Judge Rules
A facilities management business owned by CBRE is liable for New York sales tax on its bundled services, which included sales of prewritten software, an administrative law judge said in a determination released Thursday.
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May 16, 2024
Iowa To Give Tax Break For Gains From Livestock Sales
Iowa taxpayers that make more than half of their income from farming will be able to exclude the capital gains from sales of cattle or horses from income under a bill signed by the governor.
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May 16, 2024
Ohio House Panel OKs Sales Tax Change For Delivery Cos.
Companies that deliver goods in Ohio would be able to obtain a waiver to opt out of being considered a seller in order to avoid double taxation under a bill approved by the state House Ways and Means Committee.
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May 16, 2024
BCLP Sues St. Louis Over City Taxes On Partners' Income
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP is suing St. Louis, Missouri, after the Midwestern city accused the firm of being delinquent on nearly $275,000 in earnings taxes, contending the municipality unlawfully taxed partners who don't live in the city, according to its court filing.
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May 16, 2024
Okla. Revenue Through April Beat Estimates By $285M
Oklahoma's general revenue collection from July through April exceeded budget forecasts by $285 million, according to a monthly report by the state Office of Management and Enterprise Services.
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May 16, 2024
Miss. Revenue Collection Through April Up $51M
Mississippi revenue collection from July through April was up $51 million from last fiscal year, according to a monthly report by the state Department of Revenue.
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May 16, 2024
Biden Admin Proposes To Loosen Restrictions On Marijuana
President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that his administration has formally recommended relaxing restrictions on marijuana, marking the most significant federal policy shift on cannabis since the drug was criminalized more than 50 years ago.
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May 15, 2024
State Digital Goods Sourcing Proposal Clears Early Hurdle
States could apply the highest, lowest or a blended state and local tax rate inside a five-digit ZIP code area to sales of digital goods when buyers aren't required to provide their full address under a proposal given preliminary approval Wednesday by the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board.
Expert Analysis
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Taxing The Digital Economy: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
U.S. tech companies should watch for important developments in international taxation, including the resolution of Apple's decade-old state aid case, growing frustration with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's global tax plan and adoption of the digital services tax instead, says Joyce Beebe at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.
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Kentucky Tax Talk: Pros, Cons Of The SALT Cap Workaround
Recent legislation that allows pass-through entities to be taxed at the entity level — Kentucky’s response to the federal cap on state and local tax deductions — could result in significant savings for taxpayers, but whether it applies to sole proprietorships and other aspects of the law are unclear, say attorneys at Frost Brown.
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Big Tax Changes For Multinational Cos. In Budget Proposal
The Biden administration’s fiscal year 2024 budget proposes changes that would materially alter decades-old Internal Revenue Code provisions, requiring a shift in multinational corporations' tax planning strategies comparable to that required after enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, say Xenia Garofalo and Kyle Colonna at Eversheds Sutherland.
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Home Seized, Tax Paid, Government Enriched: SALT In Review
From a Minnesota county's profit on a home seizure to a California proposal to raise corporate income taxes, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Mich. Statute Of Limitations Cases Carry Nationwide Impacts
The outcomes of Dine Brands v. Eubanks and Walt Disney v. Eubanks, currently working their way through the Michigan courts, are likely to affect how statutes of limitations in unclaimed property audits are calculated nationwide as well as within the state, given the widespread adoption of similar model provisions by many other states, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Wash. Fallout And New York Pets: SALT In Review
From the early fallout of Washington state's capital gains ruling to a proposed tax credit for adopting pets in New York, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Inside Calif.'s New Unclaimed Property Compliance Program
As California gears up to launch its voluntary compliance program for taxpayers with unreported property owed to the state, eligible holders should be aware of kinks that may initially arise and of potential audit risks, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
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Missouri's Big Idea And NY's Online Thought: SALT In Review
From a Missouri bill that could eventually end the state's corporate income tax to a proposed tax on online deliveries in New York City, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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9th Circ. Ruling Legitimizes Classwide Injury In Predominance
The Ninth Circuit's recent ruling that vacated class certification in Van v. LLR makes clear that the question of injury is highly relevant to the predominance analysis, and underscores the importance of making a persuasive argument that injury is individualized within the class, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Ohio Tax Talk: Tax Amendments In Operating Budget Proposal
Starting in 2023, the Ohio House of Representatives' budget bill would amend sales and use, income, and commercial activity tax provisions, so individuals and businesses must monitor its progression, considering the revisions could carry consequences or liability for taxpayers, say Raghav Agnihotri and Rachael Chamberlain at Frost Brown.
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A Tale Of 2 State Tax Sourcing Decisions: The Pa. Court's Path
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s recent decision in Synthes v. Commonwealth appropriately effectuated the Legislature's intent that ambiguous provisions in Section 17 of the Uniform Division of Income for Tax Purposes Act be construed to reflect the marketplace for the taxpayer's services, says Bruce Fort at the Multistate Tax Commission.
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A Tale Of 2 State Tax Sourcing Decisions: The Va. Court's Path
The Virginia Supreme Court's textualist approach in Department of Taxation v. R.J. Reynolds diverges from a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court analysis and mistakenly precludes consideration of the goals and history underlying provisions of the Uniform Division of Income for Tax Purposes Act, says Bruce Fort at the Multistate Tax Commission.
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Digital Ads And Electric Vehicles: SALT In Review
From the latest move toward a tax on digital advertising to a proposed tax on the charging of electric vehicles, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.