State & Local
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July 05, 2024
Tractor Supply Incorrectly Shifted Income, SC Tells Court
Transactions between Tractor Supply Co. and two of its affiliates inappropriately shifted income and improperly reduced the company's South Carolina corporate income tax burden, the state told an appeals court, urging it to affirm a ruling by an administrative judge.
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July 05, 2024
The Firms That Won Big At The Supreme Court
This U.S. Supreme Court term featured high-stakes oral arguments on issues including gerrymandering, abortion and federal agency authority, and a hot bench ever more willing to engage in a lengthy back-and-forth with advocates. Here's a look at the law firms that argued the most cases and how they fared.
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July 05, 2024
Hawaii To Relax Compliance Requirements For Film Tax Credit
Hawaii will ease some of its compliance requirements for companies aiming to take advantage of the state's film production tax credit as part of a bill signed by the state's Democratic governor.
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July 05, 2024
Mich. Tax Panel Drops Vacant Store's Value By $500K Per Year
The highest and best use of a vacant commercial property at the time of its assessment was to demolish the improvements and hold it for future development, a Michigan panel ruled, lowering the property's valuation by nearly $500,000 for each of two years.
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July 05, 2024
Top State And Local Tax Policies Of 2024: Midyear Report
States in 2024 have picked different ways through tax policy to respond to key challenges. Here, Law360 looks at some of the top trends in state and local tax policy so far this year.
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July 03, 2024
Maryland Fends Off Chamber's Challenge To Digital Ad Tax
A disputed provision of Maryland's tax on digital advertising doesn't violate the First Amendment, a federal judge in the state found Wednesday, throwing out a challenge to the tax brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups.
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July 03, 2024
Wash. Mall, Retail Center Seek $1.3M In Property Tax Refunds
A Seattle mall and shopping center are seeking property tax refunds topping $1.3 million, according to complaints in state court that claim the county assessor failed to use appropriate data and overvalued the properties.
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July 03, 2024
Wash. Regs Provide More Definitions For Capital Gains Tax
Washington state clarified substantive aspects of its tax on capital gains by supplying additional definitions and examples of when the tax applies under regulations adopted by the state Department of Revenue.
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July 03, 2024
Fox Rothschild Hires Pryor Cashman Nonprofit Leads
Fox Rothschild LLP announced Wednesday the hiring of two Pryor Cashman LLP partners for its corporate department in New York.
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July 03, 2024
Hawaii Creates Panel To Study Mitigation Of Biz Tax Burdens
Hawaii will create a business revitalization task force to study potential mitigation of regulatory and tax burdens imposed on companies in the state as part of a bid to improve its economic competitiveness and business climate under a bill signed by the governor.
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July 03, 2024
NY Extends Tax Breaks For Green Roofs On City Buildings
New York is extending for another three years a property tax abatement program that encourages residential and commercial buildings in New York City as part of a bill signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
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July 03, 2024
Minn. Tax Dept. Clarifies Rules On Third-Party Installations
Installation of a product in Minnesota by a party other than its seller is generally subject to state sales tax if the sale of the item itself is taxable, the state tax department said.
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July 03, 2024
Kansas' June Tax Collection Up $40M From Prior Year
Kansas collected $1.03 billion in tax revenue in June, about $40 million more than it collected in the same month last year, according to revenue figures released by the governor's office.
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July 03, 2024
Mo. General Revenues Exceed Last Fiscal Year By $194M
Missouri general revenue collection throughout the 2024 fiscal year was $194 million higher than the previous fiscal year, according to a report by the state's Office of Administration, Division of Budget and Planning.
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July 03, 2024
Arkansas' June General Revenue Drops 2.5% From Last Year
Arkansas' general revenue for June was at $751 million, 2.5% below June 2023, the state Department of Finance and Administration announced.
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July 03, 2024
Top State & Local Tax Cases Of 2024: Midyear Report
In the first half of 2024, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the state's law allowing municipalities to tax remote workers, while Microsoft sealed victory in a fight with California to include foreign dividends in its sales factor denominator, resulting in a $94 million refund. Here, Law360 looks at some of the top state and local tax cases of the past six months.
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July 02, 2024
Chevron's Fall Places State Tax Rules Under Microscope
State tax regulations could face increased judicial scrutiny in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to jettison the decades-old Chevron deference doctrine, which instructed courts to defer to federal agencies' interpretations of ambiguous laws.
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July 02, 2024
Calif. Couple Overstated Basis, Owe More Tax, OTA Says
A California couple overstated the amount of basis they had in a residence they sold, the state Office of Tax Appeals said, siding with the state Franchise Tax Board that the couple had less basis in the home and thus greater taxable gain.
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July 02, 2024
Conn. Remodels Taxes On Cars, Insurance Co. Assessments
Connecticut will remodel its motor vehicle tax regime, exempt some taxpayers from paying interest on underpayments of corporation business and personal income taxes and adjust the calculation of assessments on domestic insurance companies under legislation signed by the governor.
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July 02, 2024
Tax Consultant's Claim To Commissions Brought In Bad Faith
A California state appeals court found a wage and hour lawsuit against a tax credit firm was brought in bad faith because the worker lacked evidence to support her allegations, upholding a lower court's ruling and awarding attorney fees and costs to the firm.
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July 02, 2024
Mass. Dept. Says No Sales Tax On Genetic Testing
Charges for genetic testing of customers in Massachusetts don't incur sales tax, the state tax department said in a letter ruling released Tuesday, because personal services are exempt and the test kits provided constitute an inconsequential component of the transaction.
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July 02, 2024
Mont. Revenue Drops $180M From Last Fiscal Year
Montana collected $180 million less in general fund revenue during the fiscal year that ended in June than it did in the previous year, the state Department of Revenue said in a preliminary report.
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July 02, 2024
Calif. OTA Upholds Apportionment Method On $85M Gain
California's Franchise Tax Board applied the correct apportionment method to a nonresident's $85 million income, the state Office of Tax Appeals said, upholding an additional tax assessment of $650,000.
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July 02, 2024
W.Va. Revenues For Fiscal Year Top Forecast By $590M
West Virginia's general fund collections in fiscal year 2024 were $590 million ahead of budget estimates, the State Budget Office said in a preliminary report.
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July 02, 2024
Mass. Panel Won't Cut Tax Value Over Denied Building Permits
The owner of commercial property in Massachusetts failed to show that local denials of building permits impacted the tax value of the property, a state panel said in a decision released Tuesday, rejecting the owner's appeal of a local assessment.
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.