State & Local

  • September 25, 2024

    Colo. Sales Tax Panel OKs More Confidentiality In Audits

    Third-party sales tax audits performed on behalf of local jurisdictions in Colorado would face increased confidentiality standards under draft legislation approved Wednesday by a legislative panel.

  • September 25, 2024

    Dept. Asks Mich. Justices To Tackle Unitary Tax Case

    The Michigan Supreme Court should review an appellate court decision that found that insurance companies that are part of Nationwide should file their taxes as a unitary group because the case poses a significant public impact, the state Treasury Department said.

  • September 25, 2024

    Texas Court Denies District's Attempt To Boost Valuations

    A Texas trial court didn't err in throwing out a counterclaim brought by a local appraisal district to increase the assessed values of two multifamily properties, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday.

  • September 25, 2024

    NJ Bill Would Hike Threshold For Tax On Property Transfers

    New Jersey would raise the threshold for the imposition of a controlling interest transfer tax or an additional fee on transfers of various kinds of real property under a bill introduced in the state Assembly.

  • September 25, 2024

    Wyden Calls On 2025 Tax Bill To Include Partnership Reform

    Lawmakers should consider next year how to revise partnership tax laws to better collect on large businesses' income without harming smaller entities as Congress debates over how to address expiring tax provisions, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden said Wednesday.

  • September 25, 2024

    Puerto Rico Seeking Input On Implementing Global Min. Tax

    Puerto Rico's Department of the Treasury is looking for public comments regarding possible implementation of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's 15% global corporate minimum tax on large multinational entities.

  • September 24, 2024

    Mo. Cannabis Shop Asks Appeals Court To Scrap County Tax

    A Missouri appeals court should overturn a lower court's ruling that the state's constitution allowed a county to impose a cannabis tax on businesses that are also charged city taxes within its boundaries, a cannabis company told the court.

  • September 24, 2024

    Microsoft Fights Mich. Tax Treatment Of Cost Share Payments

    Microsoft urged the Michigan Tax Tribunal to find that cost sharing agreement receipts from affiliates constituted licenses of intellectual property that should be included in its apportionment formula, arguing that the state's tax agency incorrectly followed federal transfer pricing rules in excluding the payments from its tax calculations.

  • September 24, 2024

    Mont. Regs Carry Out Individual Income Tax Changes

    Montana has adopted regulations to implement legislation enacted in 2021 and 2023 that made substantive changes to the state's individual income tax under regulatory updates adopted by the state Department of Revenue, according to a notice published in the state register.

  • September 24, 2024

    Ohio Dept. Floats Sales Tax Regs To Define Transient Guests

    Ohio would define "sleeping accommodation" and "transient guests" to carry out provisions of state sales tax law governing transactions between hotels and guests as part of regulations proposed by the state Department of Taxation.

  • September 24, 2024

    NY Marina Owes Sales Tax On Floating Docks Purchases

    A New York marina owes sales tax on its purchases of floating docks because the docks do not qualify as the installation of a capital improvement, the state Department of Taxation and Finance said in a ruling released Tuesday.

  • September 24, 2024

    Propane Sales To NY Home Not Taxed, Tax Dept. Says

    A New York homeowner who orders propane to heat a detached garage isn't required to pay state sales tax on the transaction, the state Department of Taxation and Finance said in an opinion released Tuesday.

  • September 24, 2024

    Calif. Authorizes Sending Sales Tax Notices Electronically

    California authorized the state Department of Tax and Fee Administration to send electronic notices for sales and use tax assessments and determinations regarding various other taxes and fees as part of a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

  • September 24, 2024

    NY Energy Tax Break Available For Apt. Buildings, Dept. Says

    Gas and electricity used in a landlord's New York state apartment buildings, including common areas, are eligible for a sales tax exemption for residential energy sales, the state tax department said in an opinion released Tuesday.

  • September 24, 2024

    NY Dept. Says Online Directory Services Not Taxed

    New York's sales tax isn't levied on a business that maintains an online directory listing people who represent claimants seeking disability benefits, the state Department of Taxation and Finance said in an opinion released Tuesday.

  • September 24, 2024

    NY Dept. Says Online Astrology Readings Not Taxable

    A New York business that offers users personalized astrological birth-chart readings is not subject to tax because its services aren't taxable information services, the state tax department said in a ruling released Tuesday.

  • September 24, 2024

    NY Tax Dept. Says Foreign IT Services Are Taxable

    A foreign company that provides information technology services to businesses in New York must collect and remit sales tax on receipts from clients within the state, the state Department of Taxation and Finance said Tuesday.

  • September 24, 2024

    Insurer Wants Quick Appeal At 8th Circ. In DOL Tax Fight

    A health insurer will seek the Eighth Circuit's review after a federal judge refused to toss a suit from the U.S. Department of Labor claiming the company unlawfully took at least $66.8 million in Minnesota state tax liability from plans it administered to pay in-network providers.

  • September 24, 2024

    NJ Power Broker Says AG's 'Crime Thriller' Lacks A Crime

    Powerful New Jersey businessman George E. Norcross III Tuesday called the Garden State's 111-page indictment alleging he led a scheme to strong-arm the acquisition of waterfront property in Camden through threats of economic and reputational harm a "crime thriller with no crime," and said it must be dismissed.

  • September 24, 2024

    NY Blood Bought To Treat Livestock Not Taxed, Dept. Says

    Blood products are exempt from sales tax if bought for surgical procedures performed on certain livestock and poultry, the New York state tax department said in an opinion released Tuesday, but not if they are used on pets.

  • September 24, 2024

    Colo. General Fund Revenue In Aug. Down $63M

    Colorado's general fund revenue in August was $63 million lower than it was in the same month last year, according to the state Department of Revenue.

  • September 24, 2024

    NY Escape Rooms Subject To Sales Tax, Dept. Says

    Admissions charges to escape or "mystery" rooms, where customers participate in interactive challenges and activities, are amusements subject to sales tax, the New York state tax department said in an opinion released Tuesday.

  • September 24, 2024

    NY Tax Dept. Says Coffee-Flavored Drinks Not Taxed

    A New York business's sales of coffee-flavored products don't incur sales tax, the state Department of Taxation and Finance said in an advisory opinion released Tuesday.

  • September 24, 2024

    Ariz. Revenue Through August Tops Forecast By $119M

    Arizona's general revenue collection from July through August was $119 million higher than expected, according to the state Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

  • September 24, 2024

    NY Sales Tax Due On Vehicle's Lease Balance, Dept. Says

    A New York taxpayer who assumed a lease on a motor vehicle from another taxpayer owes sales tax on the remainder of lease payments despite tax being paid on the initial lease, the state Department of Taxation and Finance said in a ruling released Tuesday.

Expert Analysis

  • How Cities Can Tackle Post-Pandemic Budgeting Dilemmas

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    Due to increasing office vacancies around the country, cities may consider politically unpopular actions to avoid bankruptcy, but they could also look to the capital markets to ride out the current real estate crisis and achieve debt service savings to help balance their budgets, say attorneys at Cadwalader.

  • State Payroll Taxes Need Remote Work Reforms

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    To alleviate employer confusion around remote employee payroll tax, lower enforcement costs and better compete for top talent, states should allow a specific number of remote work days without withholding, simplify their administrative requirements and coordinate their tax policy reforms, say attorneys at Miller Canfield.

  • Cannabis Supercenters: Key Benefits And Legal Issues

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    Barstow, California’s novel plan to convert an abandoned mall into a cannabis supercenter could offer a potential blueprint for cannabis companies to thrive in a saturated market and for communities to repurpose underutilized retail spaces — but certain financing, zoning and leasing issues will need to be assessed, says Christopher Gordon at Fox Rothschild.

  • Taxing The Digital Economy: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

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    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.

  • Kentucky Tax Talk: Pros, Cons Of The SALT Cap Workaround

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    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.

  • Big Tax Changes For Multinational Cos. In Budget Proposal

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    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.

  • Home Seized, Tax Paid, Government Enriched: SALT In Review

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    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.

  • Mich. Statute Of Limitations Cases Carry Nationwide Impacts

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    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.

  • Wash. Fallout And New York Pets: SALT In Review

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    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.

  • Inside Calif.'s New Unclaimed Property Compliance Program

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    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.

  • Missouri's Big Idea And NY's Online Thought: SALT In Review

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    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.

  • 9th Circ. Ruling Legitimizes Classwide Injury In Predominance

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    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.

  • Ohio Tax Talk: Tax Amendments In Operating Budget Proposal

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    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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