State & Local
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June 25, 2024
Hawaii Conforms To Fed. Code For Income, Estate Tax
Hawaii conformed its income tax and estate and generation-skipping transfer tax laws to the federal tax code as amended through 2023 under a bill signed by the governor.
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June 25, 2024
Ohio Floats Rules Outlining Administration Of Cannabis Taxes
The Ohio Department of Revenue published a proposed regulation outlining how the state will administer cannabis taxes, including assessment processes and recordkeeping requirements.
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June 25, 2024
Pa. Biz Group, Top Senate Tax Writer Oppose Biz Income Reg
A proposed Pennsylvania regulation outlining what constitutes apportionable business income improperly suggests that the state could enforce combined reporting and ignore precedent limiting the taxation of multistate corporations, a business advocacy group and chair of the state Senate's tax-writing committee have argued.
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June 25, 2024
Minn. Tax Court OKs Dept.'s DuPont Apportionment Method
The Minnesota tax department correctly applied an alternative method of apportionment to manufacturing company DuPont that better represented the company's taxable income in the state following transactions involving forward exchange contracts, the state's tax court ruled.
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June 25, 2024
DC Council OKs Tax Hikes On High-End Property, Payroll
Washington, D.C., would impose a special tax rate on high-end residential properties, boost the premium for the district's paid leave program and make other tax and spending changes under legislation passed Tuesday by the district council.
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June 25, 2024
Ariz. Court Slashes Value Of Low-Income Housing Complex
An Arizona housing complex subject to restrictions related to federal low-income housing tax credits was overvalued by a local assessor, the Arizona Tax Court said, slashing the valuation of the property by about three-fourths.
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June 25, 2024
T-Mobile Settles Gross Receipts Tax Dispute With Ohio
T-Mobile reached a settlement with Ohio over the company's claims that the state tax agency incorrectly sourced certain receipts and double-counted others when it issued a $775,000 commercial activity tax assessment, according to a state Board of Tax Appeals order issued Tuesday.
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June 25, 2024
La. Board Finds Part Of Water Levies To Be Illegal Tax
A portion of a conservation district's charges for pumping water is an unconstitutional severance tax, the Louisiana Board of Tax Appeals ruled, saying the charges weren't allowed to be used to fund a metering program.
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June 25, 2024
Ex-DOJ Atty Among New Trio At Chamberlain Hrdlicka
Chamberlain Hrdlicka White Williams & Aughtry has strengthened its tax controversy and litigation practice with the addition of three attorneys in Atlanta, including a former senior trial attorney in the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice for more than three decades.
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June 25, 2024
Tax Pros Worry Credit Sales Could Raise Substance Issues
Tax professionals are concerned that deals involving a new way to sell clean energy tax credits for cash could face IRS scrutiny after the agency scored a high-profile win over a telecommunications company by deploying an aggressive interpretation of what's known as the economic substance doctrine.
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June 25, 2024
Ore. Tax Court Affirms $13M Valuation For Lowe's Retail Outlet
The Oregon Tax Court affirmed the $13.4 million tax valuation of a Lowe's home improvement warehouse, rejecting the company's argument that the property should be valued as if it did not have a lease in place.
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June 24, 2024
Conn. Gov. Calls Special Session To Address Tax On Cars
Connecticut's governor called on the state Legislature to convene a special session Wednesday to consider legislation affecting taxes imposed on motor vehicles and other provisions governing assessments on insurance companies and interest payments imposed on certain businesses that kept employees on payroll during the pandemic.
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June 24, 2024
MTC Modifies Draft Rule On Sourcing Trucking Receipts
The Multistate Tax Commission released a tweak to its draft alternative trucking sourcing rule that would strictly source receipts from ground transportation companies to the state of delivery during a meeting Monday.
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June 24, 2024
La. To Provide Sales Tax Rebates For Data Center Purchases
Louisiana will provide state and local sales and use tax rebates for taxes paid on the lease or purchase of eligible data center equipment and the development, acquisition or repair of qualified data centers under a bill signed by the governor.
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June 24, 2024
Ex-Chicago Alderman Gets Two Years For Boosting Law Firm
An Illinois federal judge on Monday sentenced former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke to two years in prison and fined him $2 million for using his official position to steer tax business to his personal law firm, closing what prosecutors called "another sordid chapter" in the city's history of public corruption.
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June 24, 2024
Hawaii Lowers Pass-Through Tax, Allows Credit Carryover
Hawaii cut the rate of tax it imposes on pass-through entities that elect to be taxed at the entity level and will allow pass-through tax credits to be carried forward to subsequent years under a bill signed by the governor.
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June 24, 2024
Tax Preparers Win Recommendation For Class Cert. In OT Suit
A group of tax preparers have met the requirements to form a class in a suit accusing their former employer of failing to pay overtime, a New York federal magistrate judge said, rejecting the employer's argument that their request for class status came too late.
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June 24, 2024
NM Sued Over Sustainable Building Credit Award Process
A New Mexico apartment complex alleges that the state violated its due process rights after it was denied sustainable building tax credits for most of its units, according to a complaint filed in federal court.
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June 24, 2024
Mass. Tax Board Won't Trim Home Value Over Area Conditions
A Massachusetts homeowner's testimony of the poor condition of nearby properties was insufficient to lower his home's assessed value, a state tax panel said in a decision released Monday, upholding the value found by a local assessor.
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June 24, 2024
Ariz. Includes New Jet Fuels In Definition For Excise Tax
Arizona expanded the definition of jet fuel subject to the state's 3.05-cent-per-gallon excise tax under legislation signed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.
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June 24, 2024
La. Cuts Severance Tax Rates On Certain Oil, Gas Production
Louisiana will temporarily reduce its severance tax rates on production from inactive and orphan oil and gas wells under a bill the governor signed.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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Justices' MoneyGram Opinion Could Spur State Legislation
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision that federal law governs the escheatment of over $250 million in unclaimed MoneyGram checks provides clarity for some issuers, but aspects of related common law remain uncertain and states may take the opportunity to pass multistate escheatment legislation, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
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Justices Leave Questions Open On Dual-Purpose Atty Advice
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent dismissal of In re: Grand Jury on grounds that certiorari was improvidently granted leaves unresolved a circuit split over the proper test for deciding when attorney-client privilege protects a lawyer's advice that has multiple purposes, say Susan Combs and Richard Kiely at Holland & Hart.
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Biz Purchases In Nebraska, Lobsters In Maine: SALT In Review
From a proposed tax exemption on business purchases in Nebraska to an attempt to punish lobster boycotts in Maine, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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High Court Ax Of Atty-Client Privilege Case Deepens Split
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent dismissal of In re: Grand Jury as improvidently granted maintains a three-way circuit split on the application of attorney-client privilege to multipurpose communications, although the justices have at least shown a desire to address it, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.
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Comparing NY And NJ Reverse False Claims Statutes
Michael Horn and Lilli Wofsy at Archer & Greiner examine the New York and New Jersey False Claims Acts that give private parties a right to file suits alleging failure to pay the government money, and important distinctions between these state statutes and the federal law that could protect companies facing lawsuits amid substantial incentives for private litigants.
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Ohio Tax Talk: Amnesty Or Voluntary Disclosure?
Ohio's governor recently signed legislation to allow a two-month tax amnesty if the revenue is needed, but considering Ohio's current tax surplus and the fact that many taxpayers would be precluded, those owing back taxes should consider whether voluntary disclosure remains a better option, say Raghav Agnihotri and Rachael Chamberlain at Frost Brown.
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Property In Pa. And Corporate Income In Mo.: SALT In Review
From the latest attempt to do away with Pennsylvania's property tax to an assault on Missouri's corporate income tax, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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The Forces Defining Sales Tax Policy And Compliance In 2023
In the coming year, expect to see tax policymakers grapple with the complexity of state and local tax compliance, cryptocurrency, metaverse transactions, and more, says Scott Peterson at Avalara.