State & Local
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May 21, 2024
The Law360 400: Tracking The Largest US Law Firms
The legal market expanded more tentatively in 2023 than in previous years amid a slowdown in demand for legal services, especially in transactions, an area that has been sluggish but is expected to quicken in the near future.
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May 20, 2024
Transparency Act Violates Constitution, Groups Tell 11th Circ.
The Corporate Transparency Act's reporting requirements violate the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination and other constitutional provisions, libertarian think tank Cato Institute and others said Monday in urging the Eleventh Circuit to uphold an Alabama district court's ruling against the law.
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May 20, 2024
NY Senate Approves Making Usage Of Tax 'Zappers' A Felony
New York would make it a crime to make, sell, install or use software used to falsify electronic records to avoid taxes under legislation passed by the state Senate on Monday.
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May 20, 2024
Virginia Co. Can't Escape Tax After Exiting Bankruptcy
A Virginia company that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy is on the hook for a disputed corporate income tax assessment because the liability occurred after the company emerged from bankruptcy, the state's tax commissioner said.
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May 20, 2024
Va. Woman Owes Additional Income Tax, Commissioner Finds
A Virginia woman's adjusted gross income was correctly increased by the state Department of Taxation based on information from the Internal Revenue Service, the state tax commission said.
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May 20, 2024
Va. Construction Biz's Workers Not Employees, Tax Head Says
A Virginia construction company was wrongly assessed withholding tax, the state's tax commissioner said, finding the company's workers should have been considered independent contractors rather than employees.
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May 20, 2024
Va. Tax Head Nixes Assessment Transfer To Org's Tax Contact
The Virginia Department of Taxation incorrectly transferred the withholding tax assessments of an organization to the woman listed as the organization's withholding tax contact, the state tax commissioner ruled.
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May 20, 2024
Vt. General Revenue Collection Up $38M From Last Year
Vermont general revenue collection from July through April exceeded last year's total by $38 million, according to a monthly report by the state Agency of Administration.
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May 20, 2024
Va. Tax Head Nixes Drywall Co.'s Withholding Tax Assessment
A Virginia drywall business was improperly assessed withholding tax after the Department of Taxation claimed the business had incorrectly classified employees as contract workers, the state tax commissioner ruled.
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May 20, 2024
Ex-Conn. Town Atty Sues Over 'False' Ethics Complaint
Former Newington, Connecticut, town attorney Benjamin Ancona Jr. and other former officials took the Hartford-area suburb to state court claiming the town's assessor and others defamed them in and regarding a now-dismissed ethics complaint that was purportedly loaded with false statements.
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May 20, 2024
Tenn. Tax Collection Falls $494M Short Of Estimate
Tennessee's tax revenue collection from August through April underperformed a budget projection by $494 million, the state Department of Finance and Administration said in a report.
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May 20, 2024
Utah Revenue Through April Rises $19M From Prior Year
Utah collected $19 million more in net general revenue from July through April than it did during the same period last fiscal year, the state Tax Commission reported.
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May 20, 2024
Colo. To Impose Fee On Car Rentals To Fund Rail Projects
Colorado will impose a daily fee on vehicle rentals to raise funding for rail and transit infrastructure projects under legislation signed by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis that could be subject to litigation or a challenge at the ballot box.
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May 20, 2024
Iowa Exempts Rentals Between Affiliates From Sales, Use Tax
Iowa exempts certain leases or rentals between affiliates from the state's 6% sales and use tax under a bill signed by the governor.
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May 20, 2024
Feds Fight Proposed Delay In Hunter Biden's Tax Trial
Hunter Biden shouldn't be allowed to delay his criminal tax trial in California just because his lead attorney says the dates run up against Biden's upcoming trial in Delaware on firearms charges, the special counsel's office told a federal court.
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May 20, 2024
Va. Revenue Through April Grows $1.1B From Prior Year
Virginia general revenue collection from July through April was up by $1.1 billion compared with the same period last fiscal year, according to a statement from the state Department of Accounts.
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May 20, 2024
NJ Panel Advances Tax Credit Boost For Tech Co. Investments
A New Jersey Assembly committee advanced a bill that would increase tax credits offered under the state's angel investor tax credit program for investments in certain technology businesses.
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May 17, 2024
Mich. $3.4M Sales Tax Bill Is Wrong, Sneaker Site Tells Court
The Michigan Treasury Department incorrectly calculated a sneaker resale site's sales tax liability from 2017 through 2019, as the site is a marketplace facilitator required to collect tax beginning in 2020, the site told the state Court of Claims.
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May 17, 2024
Home Distillers Tell Feds Ban Fails Under Spirit Of The Law
The Hobby Distillers Association said the federal government is exceeding its constitutional powers and treading on states' rights by banning homemade liquor under its taxing authority, as the group laid out its position Friday at the request of a Texas federal judge.
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May 17, 2024
Md. To Allow Disclosure Of Tax Info For Compliance Efforts
Maryland will allow the disclosure of tax information to outside parties to assist the state comptroller's tax compliance efforts under a bill signed by the governor.
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May 17, 2024
Fla. Appeals Court Nixes Condo Tax Sale After Address Mix-Up
A Florida state appeals panel authored a split decision ordering a lower district court to reverse a tax deed sale after a property owner in Miami-Dade claimed the county's clerk of court failed to provide notice that his condo was being put up for sale due to a delinquent tax bill.
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May 17, 2024
Credit Suisse Can't Reverse $21.3M Biz Loss Denial
Credit Suisse cannot carry forward $21.3 million in business losses from 2015-2017 to its 2018 Michigan tax return, a state appeals court said, letting stand a ruling that the bank miscalculated its business income from those years on its returns.
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May 17, 2024
Ark. High Court Nixes $35M Hotel Tax Bill On Travel Cos.
An Arkansas circuit court erred in finding that online travel companies such as Hotels.com and Expedia were on the hook for $35 million in unpaid hotel taxes, the state's Supreme Court ruled, finding that a decades-old tax statute didn't apply to them.
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May 17, 2024
Md. Allows County To Add Excise Tax On Telecom Services
Maryland will authorize the state's second-most populous county to impose an excise tax on telecommunications services in addition to the county's sales and use tax on such services under a bill signed by the governor.
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May 17, 2024
Ohio School Board Can't Appeal Property Value To Court
An Ohio school board is prohibited from appealing a board of revision's valuation of a property that the school board didn't own to a court of common pleas, a state appeals court ruled.
Expert Analysis
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CORRECTED: New Tax Credits For Renewables Should Offer Investors Relief
The Inflation Reduction Act's changes to tax credits for renewable energy projects should finally liberate tax equity investors from the restraints of the complex and onerous federal anti-abuse regime, says Kay Hobart at Parker Poe. Correction: Because of an editing error, a previous version of this article incorrectly characterized tax enforcement regimes in North Carolina and other states. This error has been corrected.
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P.L. 86-272 And Tax Cuts Here And There: SALT In Review
From California's interpretation of P.L. 86-272 to calls for tax cuts in Idaho and North Dakota, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Unpacking The New Stock Buyback Tax And Its Exceptions
Xenia Garofalo and Kyle Colonna at Eversheds Sutherland discuss provisions of the recently enacted tax on corporate stock repurchases, how its exceptions may be applied and what companies should consider when evaluating the cost of new or existing programs.
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Mass. Retroactivity, Still, And Calif. Gases: SALT In Review
From Massachusetts' continuing pursuit of a retroactive tax to a California proposal to fight greenhouse gas emissions at the expense of the wealthy, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Ohio Tax Talk: Telework Case Shows Tax Grounds Eroding
The Ohio Supreme Court case Schaad v. Alder, which considers a city's right to temporarily tax remote workers during the pandemic, highlights how sustained increases in telework may undermine the rationale allowing municipalities to tax employee income regardless of their residence, say Yazan Ashrawi and Raghav Agnihotri at Frost Brown.
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Digital Ads In NM And Farms In NJ: SALT In Review
From New Mexico's proposed rules on digital advertising to New Jersey's move toward relief for farmers, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Senate Cannabis Bill May Give Some Cos. A Competitive Edge
Though the recently introduced Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act is unlikely to pass, it provides a bellwether for federal legalization, with a robust regulatory framework that would offer large food and beverage companies a structural advantage and poise multistate cannabis operators for further growth, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
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NY's Out-Of-State Play And Ala.'s Add-Back: SALT In Review
From New York state's move toward taxing out-of-state entities' partnership sales to Pfizer's victory against Alabama's add-back rule, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Lessons For Federal Lawmakers As Calif. Alters Cannabis Tax
California recently eliminated a cultivation tax that had for years burdened the state’s licensed cannabis market, providing important lessons for federal lawmakers on cumbersome regulations and unduly high taxes as they debate legalization, says Raza Lawrence at Zuber Lawler.
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Texas Tax Talk: Ruling May Erode Pro-Taxpayer Presumption
Following the recent Texas Supreme Court opinion in Hegar v. Health Care Service, the state comptroller may try to limit the utility of a long-standing presumption that ambiguous tax statutes must be construed strictly against the taxing authority and liberally for the taxpayer, say attorneys at Baker Botts.
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MTC Activity And Tax Rebates All Over: SALT In Review
From the highly active Multistate Tax Commission to tax rebates seemingly everywhere, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Emerging SALT Trends For Cryptocurrency And NFTs
Attorneys at Venable discuss trends in state and local tax with respect to cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens, and the issues for purchasers, sellers and owners in this growing marketplace that SALT authorities must address.
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E-Cigarettes And Film Tax Credits: SALT In Review
From excise taxes on e-cigarettes across the land to a study that bolsters doubts about film tax credits, RSM US LLP's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.