State & Local
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August 12, 2024
UN Eyes Two Early Changes For Tax Pact In Latest Draft
Diplomats would draft two legally binding protocols under the United Nations framework convention on international tax cooperation while creating the convention itself under the latest draft guidance for negotiators after they select from a shortlist of possible topics, including the digital economy and wealth taxation.
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August 12, 2024
Past Tax Ideas Offer Insight Into A Harris-Walz Presidency
An analysis of tax proposals previously put forth by Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democrats' presumptive nominees for president and vice president, indicates they could pursue a tax agenda geared toward providing tax relief to middle- and lower-income Americans.
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August 12, 2024
Ill. Allows Discretion On Investment Tax Credit Repayment
Illinois businesses that failed to meet the mandatory employment threshold for the angel investment tax credit may be granted discretion when it comes to the repayment of the credit amounts, under a bill signed by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
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August 12, 2024
IRS Extends Tax Deadlines For Minn. Storm Victims
Minnesota taxpayers affected by severe storms and flooding have until February to file tax returns and make payments, the Internal Revenue Service said Monday.
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August 12, 2024
Miss. Urges State Justices To Uphold Tax On Freight Charges
The Mississippi Supreme Court should find that the state's use tax laws clearly subject freight charges to tax, the state Department of Revenue argued in seeking to overturn a lower court decision that negated a tax assessment on third-party charges a pipeline company paid.
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August 12, 2024
Ill. Will Analyze State, County Property Tax Systems
Illinois will conduct a study of the state's property tax system along with a review of Cook County's classification system under a bill signed by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
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August 12, 2024
Mo. Goodwill Qualifies For Charitable Property Tax Exemption
A Missouri Goodwill employing those with "barriers to employment" qualifies for a charitable purpose exemption, making it exempt from property tax, the state tax commission ruled.
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August 12, 2024
Mich. Yacht Club's Seawalls Subject To Tax, Tribunal Says
A Michigan yacht club's seawalls are not exempt from property tax because the seawall's primary purpose is not for erosion control, the state Tax Tribunal said.
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August 12, 2024
Ind. Tax Board Reverses Valuation Of Rental Property
An Indiana tax board must reconsider the use of a single-family property that is rented out by its corporate owner, since the local assessor valued the home like an owner-occupied residence, the state's tax court said.
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August 12, 2024
Mo. Commission Says Lowe's Can't Value Stores As Vacant
The Missouri State Tax Commission rejected arguments from Lowe's to reduce the value of three properties by a combined $11.7 million, disagreeing with the home improvement giant's arguments that the properties should be valued as though they were vacant.
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August 09, 2024
The Long Road To Legalizing Pot In Florida And South Dakota
Voters in Florida and South Dakota will have the opportunity this Election Day to legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and over, and while the two efforts vary in their particulars, they both follow years of work by legalizers to craft a proposal that could gain court approval.
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August 09, 2024
3 Ways AI Tools Are Starting To Affect SALT Practices
The rise of artificial intelligence platforms is beginning to pose questions about how states may seek to tax their usage and how tax practitioners can harness generative AI's capabilities to streamline their work while being mindful of ethical obligations. Here, Law360 spotlights three areas where AI is starting to affect the state and local tax field.
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August 09, 2024
Mo. Owes $1.5M Tax Refund To AT&T Entity, Co. Says
AT&T should be granted a $1.53 million refund of erroneously paid Missouri sales tax on exempt goods and services, the company told the state Administrative Hearing Commission.
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August 09, 2024
Ind. Orthodontist Wrongly Taxed On Retainer Purchases
An Indiana-based orthodontist office was wrongly assessed sales tax on purchases of retainers because they qualify for a resale exemption, the state Department of Revenue said.
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August 09, 2024
Ind. Garden Supply Co. Wrongly Taxed On Out-Of-State Sales
An Indiana-based business that sells flowers and garden supplies to customers in other states was wrongly assessed sales tax on transactions through its website, the state Department of Revenue said.
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August 09, 2024
IRS Direct File To Be Offered In Connecticut Next Year
The Internal Revenue Service's free electronic tax filing program known as Direct File will be available in Connecticut for the 2025 tax filing season, the agency and the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced Friday.
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August 09, 2024
Ind. Couple Wrongly Taxed On Ky. Income, Dept. Says
An Indiana couple were wrongly assessed individual income tax on money earned in Kentucky, the Indiana Department of Revenue said.
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August 09, 2024
Mich. Court Says Tax Cap Voided By Law Firm's New Roof
A new roof installed on the office of a Michigan law firm was an addition to the property, allowing its taxable value to increase beyond a statutory cap, the state Court of Appeals ruled, upholding a state tax tribunal finding.
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August 09, 2024
What Books Tax Pros Recommend For This Summer
As practitioners monitor the tax implications of the U.S. presidential election as well as what might come out of the next European Commission, they may want to take a break with a good book. Here, Law360 takes a look at tax specialists' summer reading recommendations.
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August 09, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Latham, Freshfields, Wachtell
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Quantum Capital Group agrees to a roughly $3 billion deal for Cogentrix Energy, Apax Partners LLP is acquiring Thoughtworks for roughly $1.75 billion, and Mallinckrodt inks a $925 million deal for Therakos.
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August 08, 2024
Meta Tells Court Md. Digital Ad Tax Unlawfully Discriminates
Maryland's tax on digital advertising unlawfully discriminates against electronic commerce and violates the commerce clause and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Meta told the Maryland Tax Court during oral arguments Thursday in one of several related cases pending before the court.
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August 08, 2024
Dish, DirecTV Say New Laws Show Mo. Fees Never Applied
Two Missouri bills signed into law last month were meant to clarify that streaming and satellite TV services were always exempt from video service provider fees, not change the law to newly exempt the services, Dish and DirecTV told a Missouri court.
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August 08, 2024
No Rebate Estimate For Ore. Biz Tax Measure, Panel Says
An explanatory statement on an Oregon ballot measure to impose a new minimum corporate tax and provide payouts to state residents will not include an estimate of those rebate amounts, a state elections panel said.
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August 08, 2024
Utah Justices Refuse Tax Break For Sports Lab
A Utah sports medicine lab does not use its facilities exclusively for charitable purposes and therefore is not eligible for a property tax exemption, the state Supreme Court said Thursday, upholding a Utah Tax Commission decision.
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August 08, 2024
Ind. Co.'s Out-Of-State Trailer Sale Not Taxable
An Indiana company that sold a trailer to a Florida resident who then registered the trailer in Michigan didn't owe sales tax on the transaction, the Indiana Department of Revenue said.
Expert Analysis
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Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity
The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.
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Reading Between The Lines Of Justices' Moore Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Moore v. U.S. decision, that the Internal Revenue Code Section 965 did not violate the 16th Amendment, was narrowly tailored to minimally disrupt existing tax regimes, but the justices' various opinions leave the door open to future tax challenges and provide clues for what the battles may look like, say Caroline Ngo and Le Chen at McDermott.
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
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Another Crack In The Shield: SALT In Review
From the latest assault on a federal shield against taxing out-of-state businesses to an update on beer taxes, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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A Tale Of 2 Trump Cases: The Rule Of Law Is A Live Issue
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this week in Trump v. U.S., holding that former President Donald Trump has broad immunity from prosecution, undercuts the rule of law, while the former president’s New York hush money conviction vindicates it in eight key ways, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.
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Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.
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3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem
The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.
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Less Power To The People: SALT In Review
Starting with a measure that won't appear on the California ballot in November, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.