State & Local
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July 18, 2024
Rising Star: Latham's Eric Kamerman
Eric Kamerman of Latham & Watkins LLP in recent years handled the tax aspects of several multibillion-dollar acquisitions of powerhouses in British soccer and American fashion, earning him recognition as one of the tax attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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July 18, 2024
Top International Tax Cases To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2024
Tax attorneys will be tracking several high-stakes cases in the second half of 2024 that could define the bounds of the IRS' ability to craft regulations or lodge direct challenges aimed at what it sees as the tax avoidance maneuvers of multinational corporations. Here, Law360 looks at key international tax cases to follow during the rest of the year.
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July 17, 2024
Mo. Tax Commission Affirms Hotels' Combined $37.6M Value
A Missouri county correctly valued three hotels at a combined $37.6 million, the state tax commission said, affirming a hearing officer's finding that an appraiser for the hotels included pandemic-related deductions that undermined the credibility of the appraisals.
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July 17, 2024
Minn. Court Says VFW Property Subject To Lower Tax Rate
A group of properties used as a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Minnesota should be subject to a lower property tax classification because they weren't used for revenue-making purposes, the state's tax court ruled.
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July 17, 2024
Mo. Property Owners' Tax Challenge Time-Barred, Court Says
A group of Missouri property owners can't proceed with their appeal of assessments they claimed were unconstitutional taxes, a state appeals court ruled, finding the challenge was time-barred as an appeal of a special assessment.
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July 17, 2024
Ore. Fishing Biz Income Cut, Tax Deductions Raised By Court
Owners of a commercial fishing and boat fabrication business in Oregon are permitted adjustments to their 2018 income and expense deductions, the state tax court said, allowing a deduction for boat depreciation and some per diem expenses.
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July 17, 2024
Dividends Wrongly Included, Water Utility Tells NJ Tax Court
A water services company operating in New Jersey told the state's tax court that the Division of Taxation erred in denying its attempt to exclude $25 million in intercompany dividends for tax years 2017 and 2018, because the amounts were wrongly included in its federal returns.
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July 17, 2024
Disney To Join IBM's Bid To Bring NY Tax Fight To Justices
The Walt Disney Co. joined IBM in asking the U.S. Supreme Court for more time to file a petition for review of a New York high court decision that upheld tax on royalties received from foreign affiliates.
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July 17, 2024
SC Golf Club Dues Are Tax Exempt, Dept. Clarifies
South Carolina's 5% amusement tax doesn't apply to monthly and annual membership dues paid to golf clubs, the state's Department of Revenue clarified in an opinion.
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July 17, 2024
Connell Foley Adds Wilson Elser Tax Pro In Group Upgrade
Connell Foley LLP strengthened its tax and estate team this week with the promotion of several attorneys up to partner and the addition of a mergers and acquisitions and corporate restructuring tax expert previously of counsel at Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP.
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July 17, 2024
Ohio Board Lowers Value Of Kohl's Property By $800K
The Ohio Board of Tax Appeals lowered the appraised value of a Kohl's property Wednesday by roughly $822,000, saying a county appraiser wrongly concluded that the property's highest and best use would be for use by a national company.
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July 17, 2024
Miss. Revenue Up $56M From Last Fiscal Year
Mississippi revenue collection in the 2024 fiscal year was up $56 million from the previous fiscal year, according to the state Department of Revenue.
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July 17, 2024
Ark. Extends Some Tax Deadlines Following Severe Storms
Arkansas will extend some tax filing and payment deadlines for those affected by severe storms, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.
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July 17, 2024
The Tax Angle: Child Care, Medical Debt, Small Biz Relief
As talks take place on Capitol Hill over the impact the expiration of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will have on small businesses and child care, here's a peek into a reporter's notebook on a few developing tax stories.
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July 17, 2024
Wayfair, Colo. City Agree To Dismiss Sales Tax Suit
Wayfair and a Colorado city have agreed to end a suit by the home furnishings retailer over past sales taxes, stipulating a dismissal of all claims between the parties in state district court.
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July 17, 2024
Rising Star: Cravath's Kiran Sheffrin
Kiran Sheffrin of Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP has advised companies from Anheuser-Busch InBev to Valvoline on multibillion-dollar deals, including a $50 billion combination resulting in the formation of pharmaceutical giant Viatris, earning her a spot among the tax law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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July 17, 2024
DC Mayor Allows Council's Tax Plan To Go To Congress
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser returned — without her signature — a plan approved unanimously by the district council to raise taxes on high-end property sales and make other tax and policy changes, sending the matter to Congress for final approval.
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July 16, 2024
NC Panel Affirms Property Tax Valuation For Ashley Furniture
About 300 acres of property belonging to Ashley Furniture in North Carolina were properly valued at about $60 million for tax years 2018 and 2019, a state appeals court panel ruled Tuesday in favor of the state property tax commission.
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July 16, 2024
Va. Tax Head Nixes Assessment On Man For Work In India
A Virginia man was wrongly assessed income tax for services he conducted while living in India, the state's tax commissioner said in a letter ruling published Tuesday.
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July 16, 2024
Capital One Says Lack Of Fla. Ties Warrants Tax Refund
The Florida Department of Revenue should issue Capital One Bank a refund of bank franchise tax because the company did not have a sufficient connection to the state to be assessed the tax, the bank told a state court.
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July 16, 2024
Pa. Court Upholds $23M Value Of Vacant Hospital's Parking
A vacant hospital's parking area in Pennsylvania was properly valued at $23.2 million, the state Commonwealth Court ruled, finding that a trial court had the discretion to apply the sales comparison approach to the valuation.
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July 16, 2024
County Says Pittsburgh Schools Can't Force Reassessment
As one taxing body out of many in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, the School District of Pittsburgh lacks standing in its lawsuit seeking to force a countywide reassessment of property values, the county said in its preliminary objections to the suit.
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July 16, 2024
Calif. Extends Tax Board's Power To Send Electronic Notices
The California Franchise Tax Board will continue to be allowed to notify taxpayers electronically when statements, bills and other communications are available for online viewing under a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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July 16, 2024
RI Man Must Amend State Tax Return After EITC Rejected
A Rhode Island man was required to file an amended state income tax return after the Internal Revenue Service disallowed his federal earned income tax credit, the state Division of Taxation ruled.
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July 16, 2024
Energy Co. Fights Partnership Losses Denial In NJ Tax Court
An energy company told the New Jersey Tax Court that the state's denial of partnership losses stemming from its interest in a solar energy business was unconstitutional based on precedent outlining the apportionment rules for operational losses between nonunitary entities.
Expert Analysis
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Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea
A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.
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4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best
As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.
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Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs
Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.
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Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent
Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.
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Neb. Justices Should Weigh IRC Terms In Dividend Tax Case
Nebraska’s highest court, which will hear oral arguments in Precision CastParts v. Department of Revenue on April 1, should recognize that the Internal Revenue Code provides key clues to defining “dividends received or deemed to be received,” and therefore limits Nebraska’s tax on foreign-sourced corporate income, says Joseph Schmidt at Ryan.
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Strange But True, Here And There: SALT In Review
From a confusing proposal to relocate the Louisiana Tax Commission to a perplexing legislative vote on a citizen initiative in Washington state, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year
As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.
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Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.
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What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks
Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.
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Gonna Fly Now From California: SALT In Review
From an actor's impending relocation to two more defeats of efforts to tax streaming services, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment
As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC
The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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How New EU Tax And Transfer Pricing Rules May Affect M&A
Companies involved in mergers and acquisitions may need to adjust fiscal due diligence procedures to ensure they consider potential far-reaching effects of newly implemented transfer pricing measures, such as newly implemented global minimum tax and European Union anti-tax avoidance directives and proposals, says Patrick Tijhuis at BDO.