State & Local
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July 31, 2024
Neb. Panel Considers Ending Income, Property Taxes
Nebraska would eliminate its income, corporate income and property taxes and fund the government with a consumption tax as part of a bill debated Wednesday.
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July 31, 2024
Minn. Tax Court Agrees Parking Lot's Value Is $4M, Not $10M
A Minneapolis parking lot would be best valued as a buy-and-hold investment property and thus its assessed value should be lowered from $10.3 million to $3.9 million, the Minnesota Tax Court said.
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July 31, 2024
Minn. Shopping Center's $97M Value Upheld By State Justices
A Minnesota shopping center was correctly valued for tax purposes at nearly $97 million, the state Supreme Court said Wednesday, rejecting the property owner's argument that the valuation should consider a calculation of effective rent instead of market rent.
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July 31, 2024
Ex-Chicago Alderman Should Serve Full Supervision, Feds Say
A former Chicago alderman and attorney convicted of tax crimes should not be allowed an early reprieve from his court-ordered supervision because it has become his main form of punishment following his compassionate release from prison, the government has told an Illinois federal court.
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July 31, 2024
Ohio Tax Board Says Two McDonald's Properties Overvalued
Two Ohio McDonald's restaurants were overvalued by the Lorain County Board of Revision, the state tax appeals board ruled, agreeing with the company's appraisal taking into consideration comparable properties.
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July 30, 2024
States Fail To Advance MTC Project On Trucking Receipts Reg
A Multistate Tax Commission project on creating a model regulation that would allow states to source trucking receipts based on where deliveries occur appears to be shelved after a commission panel narrowly failed Tuesday to approve a motion seeking to further explore the subject.
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July 30, 2024
Ex-HFZ Capital Chief Can't Reduce Bail In $86M Fraud Case
A Manhattan judge on Tuesday denied, for now, a request by the former head of troubled real estate firm HFZ Capital Group to lower a hefty bail requirement so he can get out of Rikers Island while fighting $86 million theft and tax fraud charges.
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July 30, 2024
Legalization Foes Mount New Challenge To NY Pot Program
A group of anti-cannabis activists renewed their challenge to New York's proposal to use public funds to help marijuana retailers launch their businesses, alleging in a new state court lawsuit that the policy violates federal law.
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July 30, 2024
Mo. Hits Revenue Triggers For Continued Income Tax Cuts
Missouri has hit the needed revenue markers for additional tax cuts to be triggered that were passed under bills in 2022, the governor announced Tuesday.
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July 30, 2024
SC County's $5.4B Sales Tax Ballot Measure Called Misleading
Language in a South Carolina county's upcoming transportation sales tax ballot measure projected to raise $5.4 billion and in its enacting ordinance unlawfully mislead voters, environmental groups charge in a suit filed Tuesday.
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July 30, 2024
Ohio Bill Would Create Credit For Property Tax, Rent
Ohio would allow homeowners and renters to claim a refundable property tax credit or rebate if their property tax or rent-equivalent tax exceeds 5% of their household income under a bill introduced in the House of Representatives.
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July 30, 2024
MTC Digital Work Group Examines Taxing Bundled Products
A Multistate Tax Commission work group aiming to harmonize state tax rules for digital products is completing a project on how to tax products that are sold in a bundle, with a goal of having a draft document by September, officials said Tuesday.
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July 30, 2024
Neb. Gov. Defends Property Tax Plan At Committee Hearing
Nebraska's governor testified Tuesday that his plan to fund lower property taxes by broadening the sales tax base and upping some consumption taxes works out to a tax cut, despite objections from tax groups who claim the plan would harm residents and businesses.
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July 30, 2024
Ropes & Gray Adds Partner To Int'l Tax Practice
Ropes & Gray LLP recently added a tax adviser with a wealth of experience navigating transactions, funds and investments for clients as a partner in its New York office, the firm said.
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July 30, 2024
Local Leaders Ask Senate To Extend New Markets Credit
Congress should consider making the new markets tax credit permanent and extending opportunity zones as a way to help local governments, local leaders told the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday.
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July 30, 2024
Husch Blackwell Hires UB Greensfelder Partner In St. Louis
Several years after Husch Blackwell LLP's newest partner, Garrett Reuter Jr., graduated from law school, he joined Greensfelder Hemker & Gale PC to work alongside his late father. Now, he's bringing clients he grew up watching his father work with, to a new platform.
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July 30, 2024
Pa. Joining IRS' Free E-File Program In 2025
The IRS will make its Direct File free online tax filing program available to Pennsylvania taxpayers for the 2025 filing season, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday, making it the third state to join the program after a dozen states participated in a pilot version this year.
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July 30, 2024
NM Extends Filing Deadlines For Wildfire Affected Areas
New Mexico taxpayers affected by the South Fork and Salt wildfires will have until Nov. 1 to file taxes, matching the federal extension by the Internal Revenue Service, according to the state Taxation and Revenue Department.
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July 30, 2024
Ore. Retiree Denied Tax Subtraction For Mass. Annuity
An Oregon retiree may not subtract payouts from a Massachusetts teachers retirement annuity from her state taxable income because payments from that plan are not among those eligible for the subtraction under state law, the Oregon Tax Court said.
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July 29, 2024
Utah Biz Groups Latest To Challenge Corp. Disclosure Law
Several small-business associations in Utah became the latest group to challenge the Corporate Transparency Act's disclosure requirements, telling a federal court Monday the statute violates several constitutional provisions, including the guarantee of due process.
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July 29, 2024
Atty Pitches Prospective Sales Tax Audit Program To MTC
A tax practitioner asked the Multistate Tax Commission's audit committee Monday to develop a prospective sales tax audit initiative that would permit large retailers to work with the MTC staff to ensure they are meeting their sales tax collection obligations in real time.
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July 29, 2024
Immigrants Paid $96.7B In Taxes In 2022, ITEP Study Says
Unauthorized immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022 but received few benefits in return, according to a new study released Monday, whose authors said granting such taxpayers work authorization would boost tax revenue and economic activity.
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July 29, 2024
Mississippi Joins MTC Corp. Income Tax Audit Program
Mississippi has joined the Multistate Tax Commission's joint audit program, the chair of the MTC's audit committee said Monday, making it the 30th state to sign onto the initiative.
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July 29, 2024
Mo. Menards Store Ruled Properly Valued At $17M
A Missouri Menards home improvement store was properly valued at $17 million by a county assessor because the store's appraiser failed to use comparable properties in his valuation, the state Tax Commission affirmed.
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July 29, 2024
Wayfair To Pay Colo. City Under 10% Of Disputed Sales Tax
Wayfair will pay less than 10% of the disputed funds in a lawsuit settled last month with a Colorado city over sales tax assessments on remote sales, counsel for the home furnishings retailer said.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content
From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.
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Tax Assessment: Recapping Georgia's Legislative Session
Jonathan Feldman and Alla Raykin at Eversheds Sutherland examine tax-related changes from Georgia’s General Assembly — such as the governor’s successful push to accelerate income tax cuts — and suggest steps to take before certain tax incentives are challenged in the state's next legislative session.
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Geothermal Energy Has Growing Potential In The US
Bipartisan support for the geothermal industry shows that geothermal energy can be an elegant solution toward global decarbonization efforts because of its small footprint, low supply chain risk, and potential to draw on the skills of existing highly specialized oil and gas workers and renewable specialists, say attorneys at Weil.
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Bad Ideas That Won't Go Away: SALT In Review
From California's latest move toward a digital ad tax to Kansas' proposed tax credits for film production, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance
A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.
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Trump Hush Money Case Offers Master Class In Trial Strategy
The New York criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump typifies some of the greatest challenges that lawyers face in crafting persuasive presentations, providing lessons on how to handle bad facts, craft a simple story that withstands attack, and cross-examine with that story in mind, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System
As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.