State & Local
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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June 20, 2024
Repatriation Tax Doesn't Violate Constitution, Justices Rule
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the 2017 federal tax overhaul's mandatory repatriation levy on Thursday, finding the measure applies to the earnings of foreign corporations with U.S. shareholders and therefore does not raise constitutional questions about taxing unrealized income.
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June 18, 2024
The 2 Attys Ensnared In A NJ Mogul's Racketeering Rap
New Jersey businessman George E. Norcross III may be the alleged mastermind of a racketeering scheme to reap millions in tax credits on waterfront property in a distressed city, but the explosive indictment also reveals the purported roles of two attorneys with close ties to the Democratic Party.
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June 18, 2024
Ore. To Adopt IRS' Free E-File Program For 2025 Season
Oregon will participate in the Internal Revenue Service's Direct File free online tax filing program when it returns for the 2025 filing season, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS announced Tuesday.
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June 18, 2024
RI To Allow Sharing Info About Biz Entities' Tax Compliance
Rhode Island will allow its Division of Taxation to share information on business entities' tax compliance with the secretary of state's office under legislation signed by the governor.
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June 18, 2024
NM Appeals Court Says Co.'s Foreign Dividends Not Taxable
New Mexico's administrative hearing office erred in finding an oil and gas company must pay tax on its foreign dividend income as those subsidiaries aren't considered part of its unitary group, the state appeals court ruled.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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Could The Supreme Court Legalize Marijuana Federally?
Amid slow legislative and executive movement on cannabis reform, it’s worth examining whether the U.S. Supreme Court could provide a pathway to federal cannabis legalization — a decision that would surely require strange bedfellows given the court’s current ideological makeup, say Whitt Steineker and Mason Kruse at Bradley Arant.
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Pennsylvania Is Gathering Momentum On Adult-Use Cannabis
Though Pennsylvania has been relatively slow-moving on cannabis reform, recent support from state leaders and pressure from neighboring states signal that legalization efforts are picking up steam, and could lead to the enactment of adult-use legislation soon, says Devin Malone at Clark Hill.
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Drinking And Driving: SALT In Review
From several proposed tax breaks related to vehicular considerations to one that would aid bourbon distillers in Kentucky, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Kentucky Tax Talk: Trouble With The Incentive Oversight Bill
The potential retroactivity of a bill to increase the transparency and General Assembly oversight of Kentucky’s tax incentive programs would be problematic for businesses that received awards in recent years, despite the legislation being aimed toward future development, say attorneys at Frost Brown.