State & Local
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August 23, 2024
NM General Revenues From July Through March Up $421M
New Mexico collected $421 million more in revenue than estimated between July 2023 and March 2024, according to a report by the state's Legislative Finance Committee.
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August 23, 2024
Ariz. Revenue Collection Starts 2025 Up $83M From Forecast
Arizona's total general revenue in July was $83 million higher than forecast, according to a report by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
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August 23, 2024
Idaho's July Revenue Collection Down $5M From Estimates
Idaho's general revenue collection at the start of the 2025 fiscal year was $5 million below forecasts, according to a report by the state Division of Financial Management.
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August 23, 2024
DC Eyes Joining IRS Direct File For 2026, Revenue Rep Says
The District of Columbia is considering joining the Internal Revenue Service's free electronic tax filing program, Direct File, in 2026, a representative of the district's tax agency said Friday.
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August 23, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Latham, Wachtell, Paul Weiss
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Arch Resources merges with Consol Energy in a deal worth $5.2 billion, Advanced Micro Devices agrees to purchase ZT Systems for $4.9 billion, and Japanese tobacco company JT Group inks a deal to buy Vector Group for $2.4 billion.
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August 22, 2024
Chevron's Fall Likely To Surface In State Tax Cases, Pro Says
Taxpayers likely will raise the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron deference doctrine in challenges to state tax regulations, but it remains to be seen how effective those arguments will be, an attorney for a multistate business trade organization said Thursday.
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August 22, 2024
Justices Disfavor External Consistency Test, Mass. Atty Says
The U.S. Supreme Court likely will decline to hear a construction company's argument that South Dakota's refusal to apportion use tax on its equipment was unconstitutional, a Massachusetts tax agency attorney predicted Thursday, saying the justices have no appetite for applying the external consistency test anymore.
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August 22, 2024
StubHub Appeals $8.5M Wis. Sales Tax Assessment
Online ticket marketplace StubHub told the Wisconsin Court of Appeals that a lower court correctly determined it wasn't on the hook for an $8.5 million sales tax assessment because it didn't directly act as a ticket seller.
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August 22, 2024
NY Court Revives Co.'s Back Tax Payment Allocation Claim
The New York Division of Tax Appeals has the jurisdiction to hear a Bronx-based business's protest over how its tax payments were allocated, a state appeals court ruled.
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August 22, 2024
Ill. Exempts Certain Home-Delivered Meals From Taxes
Purchases of certain home-delivered meals for older and lower-income residents are exempt from an array of state taxes, the Illinois Department of Revenue said.
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August 22, 2024
Local Property Tax Exemptions A Must For Solar, Va. AG Says
Localities are required under state statute to provide an exemption for the taxation of property used for solar photovoltaic systems, or systems that use solar panels to create energy, the Virginia attorney general said in an opinion.
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August 22, 2024
NY AG Tells Appeals Court To Uphold $465M Trump Judgment
Donald Trump has barely challenged the extensive proof of financial statement lies undergirding a $465 million civil fraud judgment against him and his co-defendants, New York's attorney general said in an appeals brief looking to preserve the bench verdict.
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August 22, 2024
Mass. Tax Panel OKs $14M In Research Credits For Bank Co.
A Massachusetts bank holding company is entitled to nearly $14 million in research tax credits because state law does not restrict such corporations from receiving the credit, the state Appellate Tax Board said, reversing the state tax department.
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August 22, 2024
Miss. Justices Asked To Uphold Tax On Biz's Fireworks Sales
A Mississippi company's sales of fireworks and Christmas trees weren't yard sales exempt from sales tax as they were held frequently and consistently, the Mississippi Department of Revenue told the state Supreme Court, adding that a lower correctly found that the company's sales are taxable.
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August 22, 2024
Ohio Board Upholds Partial Valuation Of Old Coal Plant
A decommissioned coal plant had two of its parcels properly valued by an Ohio county, but one additional parcel should have its valuation reduced because the structure built on it added no value, the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals ruled.
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August 22, 2024
Ore. Tax Court Won't Allow Expense Shift To Previous Year
An Oregon business owner's attempt to assign advertising costs to a previous tax year was correctly denied, the state's tax court said, while it allowed a partial deduction for expenses related to home offices.
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August 21, 2024
Tech Cos. Duck Proposed Calif. Bill Via News Funding Deal
Major tech companies, including Google, agreed Wednesday to pay roughly $250 million into a fund that proponents say would support newsrooms across California in a deal that avoids a proposed regulation that would've forced Big Tech to pay the state's media organizations for distributing news content.
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August 21, 2024
NJ Caught Nearly 1 Million Fake Property Tax Relief Bids
New Jersey has increased its security measures for a property tax relief program after the state tax agency identified nearly one million fraudulent applications last year, a state Division of Taxation representative said Wednesday.
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August 21, 2024
FTA To Facilitate Legislative Roundtables Among Tax Admins
The Federation of Tax Administrators is set to facilitate a legislative work group that could foster more collaboration and awareness among state and local tax administrators about legislation circulating nationwide, a Missouri Department of Revenue representative said Wednesday.
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August 21, 2024
3 Questions Raised By Harris' Support For 28% Corp. Tax Rate
Vice President Kamala Harris has proposed increasing the corporate tax rate to 28% to boost revenue if she's elected president, but the proposed hike raises questions about changes to the corporate tax base, the future of the OECD's global tax deal and the potential impact on workers.
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August 21, 2024
Nebraska Caps Local Property Tax Increases
Nebraska will cap property tax increases by local jurisdictions and provide $750 million in property tax relief as part of a bill signed by the governor, who said tax reform efforts aren't over yet.
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August 21, 2024
Calif. Will Waive Interest Charged Because Of State Errors
California's Office of Administrative Law approved an amendment to a regulation freeing taxpayers from paying interest if they didn't pay the correct amount of sales or use tax because of an error or delay by a state agency, a state tax agency said.
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August 21, 2024
Minn. Justices OK Denial Of Homestead Tax Break
A Minnesota property was correctly denied a homestead classification and property tax break because the owner did not live at the home as required, the state Supreme Court said Wednesday, affirming a state tax court decision.
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August 21, 2024
Wisconsin Latest State To Join Direct File For 2025
The Internal Revenue Service's free electronic tax filing program, Direct File, will be available in Wisconsin for the 2025 tax filing season, the IRS and U.S. Treasury Department announced Wednesday.
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August 21, 2024
Miss. Tax Revenue In July Fell $12.9M From Last Year
Mississippi tax collection in the first month of the 2025 fiscal year was $12.9 million less than last year, according to the state Department of Revenue.
Expert Analysis
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Credit Cards And Trading Cards: SALT In Review
From Mastercard's loss in a South Carolina court case to the taxability of trading cards imported to California, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Calif. Budget Will Likely Have Unexpected Tax Consequences
A temporary suspension of net operating loss deductions and business incentive tax credits, likely to be approved on June 15 as part of California’s next budget, may create unanticipated tax liabilities for businesses that modeled recently completed transactions on current law, says Myra Sutanto Shen at Wilson Sonsini.
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Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians
Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent
As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.
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How Cannabis Rescheduling May Alter Paraphernalia Imports
The Biden administration's recent proposal to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana use raises questions about how U.S. Customs and Border Protection enforcement policies may shift when it comes to enforcing a separate federal ban on marijuana accessory imports, says R. Kevin Williams at Clark Hill.
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Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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Ohio Tax Talk: The Legislative Push For Property Tax Relief
As Ohio legislators attempt to alleviate the increasing property tax burden, four recent bills that could significantly affect homeowners propose to eliminate replacement property tax levies, freeze property taxes for longtime homeowners, adjust homestead exemptions annually for inflation, and temporarily expand the homestead exemption, say Raghav Agnihotri and Rachael Chamberlain at Frost Brown.
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Looking South With A Smile: SALT In Review
From Mississippi's long walk toward repealing its personal income tax to a welcome stroke for open government in Kentucky, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
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How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case
The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.