State & Local
-
March 18, 2025
Bank Groups Push For Permanent Block On Ill. Swipe Fee Law
Banking industry groups moved late Monday to deliver a final blow to an Illinois state law that bans swipe fees on tax and tip portions of payment card transactions, asking a Chicago federal judge to go ahead and finish off the ban before it takes effect this summer.
-
March 18, 2025
Wash. Revenues Through March 10 Beat Forecasts By $56M
Washington state's total general revenue from Nov. 11 through March 10 beat estimates by $56 million, according to a report by the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council.
-
March 18, 2025
NY Tax Collections Through Feb. Up $8B From Last Year
New York's tax collection from April through February outpaced last year's total by $8 billion, according to a report by the state Department of Taxation and Finance.
-
March 18, 2025
Tenn. To Cut Shared Tax Revenue For Late Municipal Audits
Tennessee will require municipal governments to timely submit mandatory annual audits to the state comptroller and will impose penalties that reduce the amount of sales tax revenue shared with municipalities that miss the deadline under a bill signed by the governor.
-
March 18, 2025
Minn. Plan For Surplus Revenue Refunds Stalls On Tie Vote
A Minnesota plan to return portions of surplus revenues to taxpayers under a constitutional amendment stalled in the state House as a bill to place that proposal on the ballot fell short of passage with a tie vote.
-
March 17, 2025
Ark. Sale Of Arby's Restaurants Not Biz Income, Judge Rules
A now-defunct corporation that was the largest franchisee of Arby's fast-food restaurants did not earn business income in Arkansas when it sold the brand because it was not in the business of disposing of such property, a state trial court ruled in an opinion obtained Monday by Law360.
-
March 17, 2025
The Tax Angle: Lawmakers Huddle To Mull TCJA
From a look at the three-day legislative retreat held by House Democrats to Ways and Means Republicans meeting behind closed doors to discuss the 2017 GOP tax overhaul, here's a peek into a reporter's notebook on a few of the week's developing tax stories.
-
March 17, 2025
Md. Digital Ad Tax Law Violates 1st Amendment, 4th Circ. Told
Maryland's digital ad tax law includes a content-based ban on speech and violates the First Amendment, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others told the Fourth Circuit on Monday, seeking to overturn a district court decision upholding the tax.
-
March 17, 2025
Ore. Lawmakers OK $5B Insurer, Hospital Tax Extension
Oregon would extend medical provider and insurance assessments otherwise slated to expire, raising $5 billion for the state's healthcare programs over four years, under legislation passed Monday by the state Senate.
-
March 17, 2025
Kleinberg Kaplan Adds Simpson Thacher Atty As Tax Partner
Kleinberg Kaplan announced Monday that it has added a Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP attorney to help provide clients with expertise on tax aspects of private investment fund formation and operation, as well as mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and financings.
-
March 17, 2025
Pa. Net Revenues Down $104M From Forecast
Pennsylvania's general fund revenue from July through February underperformed forecasts by $104 million, according to a report by the state Department of Revenue released Monday.
-
March 17, 2025
Minn. Senate Bill Proposes Retailer Tax Collection Allowance
Minnesota would allow a retailer to retain a portion of its sales and use tax collection to pay for the administrative cost of remitting sales and use tax under a bill introduced Monday in the state Senate.
-
March 17, 2025
NJ Tax Collection Through Feb. Increases By $1 Billion
New Jersey's major revenues from July through February jumped by $1 billion over last year, according to a report by the state Department of the Treasury.
-
March 17, 2025
Ark. Allows Intercepting Tax Returns To Collect Court Fines
Arkansas authorized courts that have sentenced criminal defendants to pay fines or other costs to collect unpaid amounts through intercepting a defendant's state income tax return, under a bill signed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
-
March 17, 2025
Belkin Burden Hires Tax Exemption, Zoning Experts
Belkin Burden & Goldman LLP announced Monday it has added five new attorneys from Seiden & Schein PC who will form the firm's new tax exemptions and zoning incentives department.
-
March 17, 2025
Minn. Bill Seeks Vote For Sales Tax Hike For Housing
Minnesota would boost its sales tax rate by 0.375 of a percentage point to fund housing efforts under a constitutional amendment proposed for a vote in the 2026 election under legislation introduced in the state Senate.
-
March 17, 2025
Ill. Revenues Beat Budget Forecasts By $20M
Illinois' total revenues from July through February topped forecasts by $20 million, according to the Governor's Office of Management and Budget.
-
March 17, 2025
DC Commercial Property Taxable Values Drop Nearly 8%
Commercial property values in Washington, D.C., dropped 7.87% in their 2025 assessments compared with a year earlier, the district's tax office said.
-
March 14, 2025
What To Do, And Not To Do, Before A State Tax Court Judge
Many practitioners and state government officials will face a state tax court judge at some point in their careers, and sometimes getting off on the right foot means knowing what not to do, four current and former judges said.
-
March 14, 2025
Mich. Panel Revives Hangar's Property Tax Challenge
The Michigan Court of Appeals revived a company's argument that it is exempt from a city's tax on a hangar it leased from a regional airport authority, saying the state Tax Tribunal should have required the municipality to prove that a tax statute applied to the company.
-
March 14, 2025
Ariz. Sen. OKs Expansion Of Tax Break For Aviation Gear
Arizona would expand its transaction privilege and use tax exemptions for aircraft communication instruments and tools used to maintain an aircraft to general aviation aircraft under a bill passed in the state Senate.
-
March 14, 2025
Texas Justices Affirm Private Prison Co.'s Exemption Denial
A private prison operator with facilities in Texas was correctly denied a sales tax exemption granted to government agencies or instrumentalities of the state, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday.
-
March 14, 2025
Colo. Sen. Panel OKs Premium Drop In Family Leave Program
Colorado would lower the premium for the state's paid family medical leave insurance program and double its benefit for parents of newborns in intensive care under legislation passed Friday by a Senate Committee.
-
March 14, 2025
Ark. Bill Aims To Ban Certain Separate Property Assessments
Arkansas would not allow accessory dwelling units to be assessed separately from a principal residence through a constitutional amendment proposed by a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives.
-
March 14, 2025
Neb. Tax Receipts Through Feb. Nearly Match Forecast
Nebraska's net tax receipts from July through February came close to projections, according to a report released by the state Department of Revenue on Friday.
Expert Analysis
-
How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market
Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.
-
Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.
-
Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step
From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
-
Shake-Ups For Courts In Different Fields: SALT In Review
From the end of Chevron deference in the courts to the planned sale of the NBA's reigning champion, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
-
Kentucky Tax Talk: Appeals Court Revisits Leases' Tax Effects
With better facts and greater emphasis on the Kentucky Constitution, Walgreen Co. may succeed in its latest Kentucky Court of Appeals challenge to a tax assessor's method of valuing leaseholds on real property for purposes of determining ad valorem tax, say Mark Sommer and Elizabeth Ethington at Frost Brown Todd.
-
Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity
The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
-
Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.
-
Reading Between The Lines Of Justices' Moore Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Moore v. U.S. decision, that the Internal Revenue Code Section 965 did not violate the 16th Amendment, was narrowly tailored to minimally disrupt existing tax regimes, but the justices' various opinions leave the door open to future tax challenges and provide clues for what the battles may look like, say Caroline Ngo and Le Chen at McDermott.
-
A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
-
Another Crack In The Shield: SALT In Review
From the latest assault on a federal shield against taxing out-of-state businesses to an update on beer taxes, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
-
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
-
Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
-
How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.