State & Local
-
June 21, 2024
Supreme Court Leaves Lifeline For Billionaire Income Tax
The U.S. Supreme Court narrowed but did not entirely block the path to billionaire income tax legislation when the majority's opinion declined to weigh constitutional questions about taxing unrealized gains in its decision to uphold a mandatory repatriation levy.
-
June 21, 2024
Vt. Lawmakers Override Veto Of Short-Term Rental Surcharge
Vermont legislators overrode the governor's veto of legislation that imposes a 3% surcharge on short-term rentals.
-
June 21, 2024
Ore. High Court Affirms Tax On Out-Of-State Tobacco Co.
An out-of-state tobacco company is liable for Oregon's excise tax, the state high court said, agreeing with the Oregon Tax Court that the company's in-state sales activities nullified protections in federal law against triggering state taxation.
-
June 21, 2024
Texas Justices Say Settlement Doesn't Bar Oncor's Tax Fight
A settlement agreement doesn't preclude Texas power company Oncor from seeking to correct the value of its electric transmission lines on county appraisal rolls, the state's high court ruled Friday, weighing in on a dispute that divided two lower appeals courts.
-
June 21, 2024
Ohio House Bill Would Tax Car Condos As Residential Parcels
Ohio would classify car condominiums as residential property for property tax purposes under a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives.
-
June 21, 2024
Ex-Chicago Alderman Burke Can't Delay Sentencing
Former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke can't postpone his Monday sentencing on charges of racketeering, extortion and bribery to await a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the scope of federal bribery law, an Illinois federal judge ruled Friday, saying that decision will have "little or no impact" on Burke's fate.
-
June 21, 2024
Kansas Adopts Fewer Tax Brackets, Reduces Bank Tax
Kansas will go from three to two income tax brackets, reduce the state's bank privilege tax and make other tax changes under a bill signed Friday by Gov. Laura Kelly, who previously had resisted shifting to two brackets.
-
June 21, 2024
Ex-Mass. Pol Hit With New Charges In COVID Fraud Case
A former Massachusetts state senator already accused of pandemic-related fraud has been charged alongside his sister with attempting to cover up a scheme to make him eligible for unemployment benefits, the U.S. attorney's office announced Friday.
-
June 21, 2024
Ohio Board Says Zoning Change Doesn't Cut Properties' Value
The Ohio Board of Tax Appeals rejected on Friday arguments from an owner of five parcels that changes to their zoning that occurred within a year of when they were purchased warranted reducing the properties' values below their sales prices.
-
June 21, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Travers Smith, Potamitis Vekris
In this week's Taxation With Representation, RSK Group Ltd. gets a £500 million ($632 million) investment, Boston Scientific Corp. acquires Silk Road Medical Inc., Masdar takes a part of Terna Energy SA, and Tate & Lyle PLC buys CP Kelco from JM Huber Corp.
-
June 20, 2024
Trump Calls For Engoron's Recusal In Civil Fraud Case
Former President Donald Trump and other defendants fighting a $465 million civil fraud judgment called on New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron to recuse himself Thursday in light of a once-suspended real estate attorney's recent judicial misconduct claims, which have since sparked a judicial investigation.
-
June 20, 2024
Calif. High Court Strikes Anti-Tax Measure From Nov. Ballot
A ballot measure that would make it more difficult to raise taxes in California would revise the state constitution and cannot be enacted by citizen initiative, the state's highest court held Thursday in an opinion that ordered the measure struck from the ballot.
-
June 20, 2024
Nebraska Net Revenue Misses Estimate By $49M
Nebraska's net general fund receipts for July through May came in $49 million below a budget projection, according to a monthly report by the state Department of Revenue.
-
June 20, 2024
La. Tax Agency Proposes Expanding Informal Payment Plans
Louisiana taxpayers with less than $50,000 in taxes due would be able to pay over five years in an informal installment plan, the Louisiana Department of Revenue said in a proposed rule that would increase the current threshold.
-
June 20, 2024
NY High Court To Review Tax On Co.'s Ad Analysis Services
New York's highest court agreed Thursday to hear a research company's appeal of a lower court's finding that its services that measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns constitute taxable information services.
-
June 20, 2024
Ind. Rental Property Value Incorrectly Increased, Board Says
An Indiana rental property's assessment will be reduced to its value from a previous tax year because the local assessor's market-based rent analysis failed to support an increased valuation, the state tax review board determined.
-
June 20, 2024
Online Photos Not Proof Of Taxable Sales, Miss. Justices Told
A Mississippi trial court erred in ruling that a couple's yard sale transactions were taxable as the decision relied upon Facebook photos used by the state tax department as evidence, the couple told the state Supreme Court.
-
June 20, 2024
Ariz. Delays Certification Of 3rd-Party Sales Tax Sourcing
Arizona delayed by two years the implementation of a recently enacted requirement that the state Department of Revenue create a certification process for third-party providers of sales tax sourcing services under a bill signed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.
-
June 20, 2024
Mich. Insurer Owes Tax On Mailed Ads, Appeals Court Says
A Michigan life insurance company owes use tax on advertisements mailed by an out-of-state contractor, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled Thursday, upholding a lower court's decision.
-
June 20, 2024
Ore. Water Treatment Plant Not On Farmland, Tax Court Says
Portions of farmland used for a wastewater treatment facility were correctly denied a special farm-use assessment rate, the Oregon Tax Court said, allowing the special rate for other contested areas of the property.
-
June 20, 2024
Ind. Car Wash Valued Correctly, State Tax Board Says
An Indiana car wash was correctly valued by the local tax board as the property owner failed to provide market evidence to support a reduction in its assessment, the state tax review board determined.
-
June 20, 2024
Group To Appeal Rejection Of Suit Against Colo. Funding Law
Colorado's law creating fees to fund transportation enterprises violates the state's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, a conservative group suing to throw out the fees told a state court, saying it was appealing to the state Court of Appeals.
-
June 20, 2024
Ark. Cuts Income Tax Rates, Expands Homestead Credit
Arkansas cut its income tax rates and increased its homestead property tax credit under a bill signed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
-
June 20, 2024
Casinos Must Fight Hotel Tax In State Court, 5th Circ. Says
Owners of two Louisiana casinos with attached hotels must challenge Baton Rouge in state court, rather than federal court, over taxes the city says they owe on free hotel stays they gave patrons, the Fifth Circuit ruled, saying the state is entitled to deference.
-
June 20, 2024
Nationwide Wins Mich. Combined Filing Tax Fight On Appeal
Nationwide entities can file as a unitary business in Michigan to share tax credits across their group members, the state Court of Appeals ruled Thursday, overturning a state tax tribunal decision that said insurance companies were required to file separate returns.
Expert Analysis
-
3 Principles Should Guide MTC's Digital Products Tax Work
As the Multistate Tax Commission's project to harmonize sales tax on digital products moves forward, three key principles will help the commission's work group arrive at unambiguous definitions and help states avoid unintended costs, say Charles Kearns and Jeffrey Friedman at Eversheds Sutherland.
-
OECD Treatment Of Purchased Ga. Film Credits Isn't Peachy
Producers considering Georgia as a prospective location for filming may already be concerned that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's July decision will hamper the eventual 2026 or later sale of their Georgia film tax credits, says Alan Lederman at Gunster.
-
A Milestone For Offshore Wind In Maine
Recently signed legislation directing Maine to procure up to 3 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2040 offers indisputable promise that the state will soon welcome commercial-scale offshore wind development off its shores, says Joshua Rosen at Foley Hoag.
-
Mallory Ruling Doesn't Undermine NC Sales Tax Holding
Contrary to the conclusion reached in a recent Law360 guest article, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Mallory ruling shouldn't be read as implicitly repudiating the North Carolina Supreme Court’s sales tax ruling in Quad Graphics v. North Carolina Department of Revenue — the U.S. Supreme Court could have rejected Quad by directly overturning it, says Jonathan Entin at Case Western Reserve.
-
Calif. Policymakers Should Aid Crashing Cannabis Market
As California’s cannabis sector nears the brink of financial collapse, it may be time for the state government to seriously consider potential bailout programs for the embattled industry — though the crisis also presents strategic buying opportunities for those with a high tolerance for uncertainty, says Michelle Mabugat at Greenberg Glusker.
-
What Came Of Texas Legislature's Long-Promised Tax Relief
Following promises of historic tax relief made possible by a record budget surplus, the Texas legislative session as a whole was one in which taxpayers that are large businesses could have done somewhat better, but the new legislation is clearly still a positive, say attorneys at Baker Botts.
-
Looking Behind The Curtain Of Residential Transition Loans
As residential transition loans and securitizations of such loans grow increasingly popular, real estate stakeholders should take care to understand both the unique features and potential challenges offered by this novel asset class, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
-
Where Tax Policies Go Wrong: SALT In Review
RSM's David Brunori reviews the worst tax policies employed by state and local governments, then critiques recent tax developments in Oregon, New York and Boston.
-
Mallory Opinion Implicitly Overturned NC Sales Tax Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to review Quad Graphics v. North Carolina Department of Revenue, but importantly kicked the legs from under Quad's outcome a week later, stating in its Mallory decision that the high court has the prerogative to overrule its own decisions, says Richard Pomp at the University of Connecticut.
-
Delicious In Conn., Less Tasty In La.: SALT In Review
From Connecticut reducing its beer tax to Louisiana retaining its franchise tax, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
-
Review Of Repatriation Tax Sets Justices On Slippery Slope
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to review the constitutionality of the repatriation tax in Moore v. U.S. has implications for many tax rules involving unrealized amounts and could leave the court on the brink of invalidating large swaths of the Internal Revenue Code, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.
-
How To Avoid A Zombie Office Building Apocalypse
With national office vacancy rates approaching 20%, policymakers, investors and developers will need to come together in order to prevent this troubling trend from sucking the life out of business districts or contaminating the broader real estate market, say Ryan Sommers and Robyn Minter Smyers at Thompson Hine.
-
Ohio Tax Talk: Building On Federal Affordable Housing Credit
Ohio's soon-to-be-implemented low-income housing tax credit could significantly affect the state's affordable housing landscape and influence tax-credit deal financing for these projects, though Senate changes may have dampened the new credit's immense potential, say Raghav Agnihotri and Rachael Chamberlain at Frost Brown.