State & Local
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June 28, 2024
Ohio Tax Applies To Quest Testing Kit Purchases, Board Says
Two Quest Diagnostics subsidiaries are not eligible for a refund of sales tax paid on testing kits, reagents and hormones because those items are not drugs exempt from tax, the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals said Friday.
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June 28, 2024
Mass. Senate OKs $5B Housing Bill Without Local-Option Tax
Massachusetts would authorize about $5 billion in bonding authority to promote housing under legislation passed by the state Senate that leaves out a local-option real estate transfer fee sought by Democratic Gov. Maura Healey.
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June 28, 2024
Fla. Won't Require Short-Term Ad Platforms To Remit Tax
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill that would have required short-term rental advertising platforms to collect and remit transient rental tax on bookings made through the platform.
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June 28, 2024
Vt. General Revenues Through May Up $41M From Last Year
Vermont's general fund revenue from July through May exceeded last year by roughly $41 million, according to a report by the state Agency of Administration.
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June 28, 2024
Mich. Revenues Through May Fall $530M From Last Year
Michigan's general fund revenues from October through May were down $530 million compared with the same period last fiscal year, the State Budget Office reported Friday.
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June 28, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Vinson, Skadden
In this week's Taxation with Representation, Aareal Bank AG and Advent International sell a property management and maintenance software company, Webtoon Entertainment Inc. and Tamboran Resources Corp. price initial public offerings, SM Energy Company acquires oil and gas assets, and Nokia sells Alcatel Submarine Networks to the French state.
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June 27, 2024
IRS To Offer Combined Filing For Energy Investment Credits
The Internal Revenue Service will let clean energy project owners that are claiming investment tax credits for more than 200 facilities file the claims with a single form, an agency official said Thursday.
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June 27, 2024
Calif. Budget Will Prevent Another Microsoft-Style Tax Win
A measure in California's new budget tax law, enacted Thursday, will potentially save the state more than $1 billion by preventing more wins like the one Microsoft secured when the state Office of Tax Appeals ruled it could include 100% of the dividends from foreign affiliates in its California sales factor denominator.
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June 27, 2024
Ill. Extends R&D Tax Credit, Adds Quantum Computing Credits
Illinois extended its research and development tax credit, expanded eligibility for a program that provides tax breaks to electric vehicle manufacturers and created tax credits for quantum computer component parts manufacturers under a bill signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
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June 27, 2024
RI To Allow Single-Sales-Factor Apportionment For Banks
Rhode Island will allow banking institutions doing business that is subject to tax in and outside the state to apportion their income using only the receipts factor under a bill signed into law by the governor.
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June 27, 2024
Ind. Dept. Says Some Of Co.'s Software Purchases Are Exempt
The Indiana Department of Revenue ruled that only some purchases of prewritten software by a company are exempt from sales tax because the company proved it wasn't a purchase of tangible property.
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June 27, 2024
Nev. Regs Clarify Sales Tax Exemption Letters For Nonprofits
Nevada clarified under regulatory amendments approved by the state Legislative Commission that a letter providing for an exemption from sales and use tax for eligible nonprofit organizations applies only to tax liabilities that would have accrued on or after the date such a letter was issued.
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June 27, 2024
NY Historic Building Rehab Tax Credits Apply Per Structure
New York's $5 million tax-credit cap for rehabilitation projects of historic properties is applied on a per-structure basis even if multiple structures are included on a single application, the state Department of Taxation and Finance said in a declaratory ruling.
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June 27, 2024
Google Tells Md. Court Digital Ad Tax Violates Federal Law
Maryland's first-in-the-nation digital advertising tax violates a federal law protecting electronic commerce from discriminatory treatment as well as the U.S. Constitution, Google told the state's tax court during oral arguments Thursday.
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June 27, 2024
AG Says Trump Recusal Bid Relies On 'Distortion Of Facts'
New York's attorney general says Donald Trump is relying on a "distortion of facts" in seeking to oust the judge who ordered the former president to pay $465 million in penalties in his civil fraud case.
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June 27, 2024
Conn. Lawmakers OK Tax Changes For Cars, Insurance Biz
A Connecticut proposal to retool the state's motor vehicle tax regime in a bid to head off a potential tax increase, as well as change assessments on insurance companies, was passed by the state House on Thursday and next goes to the governor.
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June 27, 2024
Mich. Lawmakers OK Flexibilty For Remote Tribunal Hearings
The Michigan Tax Tribunal would be allowed to hold remote hearings for residential property and small-claims matters at one party's request under a bill passed Thursday by the state Legislature.
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June 27, 2024
Mich. Senate OKs Fix For Potential Double Tax On Deliveries
Michigan would allow certain marketplace facilitators of deliveries to deduct sales tax that they paid to sellers to avoid potential double-taxation issues under a bill approved by the state Senate.
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June 27, 2024
Ex-Skadden Tax Head And M&A Pro Joins Freshfields In NY
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP has added the former head of the tax practice at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP as a partner this week, who brings to the role experience in deals like 21st Century Fox's $71 billion acquisition by Disney and the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint.
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June 27, 2024
Fla. County Owes Tax To Other County, Fla. Justices Rule
The Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday that counties are not immune from being taxed on properties they own in other counties, affirming a decision that said Pinellas County cannot claim sovereign immunity to duck taxes on property it owns in neighboring Pasco County.
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June 27, 2024
Ind. Tax Doesn't Apply To Practice's Supplement Purchases
An Indiana medical practice should be refunded sales tax paid on purchases of dietary supplements because the practice was able to prove the purchases were made for resale, the state Department of Revenue ruled.
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June 27, 2024
Ind. Biz Wrongly Taxed For Sales To Leasing Co., Dept. Says
An Indiana furniture retailer was wrongly assessed additional tax for sales it made to a leasing company, the state Department of Revenue said in a letter of finding.
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June 26, 2024
Conn. Senate OKs Changes To Tax On Cars, Insurance Cos.
Connecticut would change how it values and taxes motor vehicles, exempt some businesses from interest on certain tax underpayments and change the calculation of assessments on insurance companies under emergency-certified omnibus legislation the state Senate passed Wednesday at the start of a special session.
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June 26, 2024
Repatriation Tax Ruling May Sway State Wealth Tax Debates
The U.S. Supreme Court's upholding of the federal repatriation tax could indirectly affect state tax policy discussions, including by influencing consideration of wealth taxes and encouraging states to keep potential due process issues in mind when enacting tax legislation.
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June 26, 2024
Fiserv Co. Challenges Fla. Tax Sourcing Rules
Fiserv entity Checkfree asked a Florida state court to throw out a $4 million corporate income tax assessment, arguing that revenue from its payment facilitation services should be sourced out-of-state where the services are performed.
Expert Analysis
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Ohio Tax Talk: Tax Amendments In Operating Budget Proposal
Starting in 2023, the Ohio House of Representatives' budget bill would amend sales and use, income, and commercial activity tax provisions, so individuals and businesses must monitor its progression, considering the revisions could carry consequences or liability for taxpayers, say Raghav Agnihotri and Rachael Chamberlain at Frost Brown.
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A Tale Of 2 State Tax Sourcing Decisions: The Pa. Court's Path
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s recent decision in Synthes v. Commonwealth appropriately effectuated the Legislature's intent that ambiguous provisions in Section 17 of the Uniform Division of Income for Tax Purposes Act be construed to reflect the marketplace for the taxpayer's services, says Bruce Fort at the Multistate Tax Commission.
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A Tale Of 2 State Tax Sourcing Decisions: The Va. Court's Path
The Virginia Supreme Court's textualist approach in Department of Taxation v. R.J. Reynolds diverges from a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court analysis and mistakenly precludes consideration of the goals and history underlying provisions of the Uniform Division of Income for Tax Purposes Act, says Bruce Fort at the Multistate Tax Commission.
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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.