State & Local Tax Takeaways From July

Maria Koklanaris
Senior Tax Correspondent

As activity in most state legislatures wound down in July, action in the courtroom heated up, especially with state and local tax litigation surrounding digital media and products. Here, Law360 looks at highlights from the past month.

Ruling May Further Erode IRS' Post-Loper Bright Authority

Natalie Olivo
Senior Tax Correspondent

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims recently held that a general congressional grant of authority by itself cannot support tax regulations, potentially weakening a foothold the IRS had planned to use after the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 Loper Bright ruling.

Clean-Energy Projects Face Scrutiny After Tax Credit Rush

Keith Goldberg

Clean-energy developers' rush to start project construction in order to remain eligible for expiring tax credits has investors and buyers questioning whether their work actually qualifies, complicating efforts to meet future project completion deadlines.

Assessing The Benefits Of Fla.'s Newest Business Structure

As of July 1, Florida business owners can create protected series LLCs to shield assets from liability while avoiding increased costs and wasted time, but burdensome recordkeeping obligations are crucial to maintaining the very protection that makes them attractive in the first place, says Gregory Ritter at Moritt Hock.

Justices' Tax Sale Ruling Tees Up Auction Fairness Battles

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Pung v. Isabella County, Michigan, that taxpayers are not entitled to fair market value of real property seized to satisfy a tax debt shifts attention to the fairness of state and local auction procedures, and whether taxpayers claiming surplus proceeds face unwarranted hurdles, say attorneys at Miller Canfield.

Judges On AI: Examining Administrative, Organizational Uses

U.S. District Judge Alan Albright of the Western District of Texas examines how artificial intelligence could transform a court's ability to deal with administrative work and organize materials when preparing for hearings or drafting opinions, thereby affording judges more time to resolve contested issues.

Ensuring Eligibility For Data Center Sales Tax Breaks

As states compete to lure data centers, sales tax exemptions are an important component of many incentive packages — but companies must ensure that projects not only qualify for exemptions on paper, but also can preserve and prove their eligibility through the planning, construction and operation phases, says Peter Lowy at Nelson Mullins.

Fighting The Good Fight Against A Bad Rule: SALT In Review

From a continuing challenge to a New York regulation on interstate commerce to Washington state voters' chance to repeal a tax on millionaires, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.

Inside Differing State Approaches To Prediction Market Taxes

As states adopt divergent approaches to prediction market platforms through both legislation and litigation, and the landscape is anything but settled, the emerging patchwork of state taxes on prediction markets presents novel questions about characterization, preemption and compliance, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

Being A Magician Makes Me A Better Lawyer

The skills I've developed as a lifelong magician have translated directly into tangible benefits in the courtroom because performing magic and trying cases both live at the intersection of psychology, storytelling, timing and disciplined rehearsal, says Mark Dombroff at Fox Rothschild.

Mich. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

The second quarter brought several notable financial services law developments to Michigan, including a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on state tax foreclosures, progress on a money transmission modernization bill package, and continued legislative momentum on cryptocurrency and mortgage lending, say attorneys at Dykema.

A Tax Regulation With A Hole In The Middle: SALT In Review

From Dunkin' Donuts' successful challenge of a New Jersey sales tax regulation to a proposed income tax cut that won't appear on the Massachusetts ballot, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.

Choral Singing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Singing in the New York City Bar Chorus — a hobby partly inspired by the late U.S. District Judge Richard Owen, who infused my clerkship year with opera music — has improved my legal career by refining my abilities to listen, exude confidence and develop emotional intelligence, says Bonnie Baker at Friedman Kaplan.

Power To The Paralegals: Burnout As A Structural Problem

Law firm leadership can best retain their paralegals not by encouraging self-care, but by seeking top-down structural solutions for the quiet proliferation of responsibilities and the vicarious exposure to client trauma that particularly drive burnout in this vital role, says Erika Sneeringer at Brockstedt Mandalas.

A Tax Costly To Everyone, Sooner Or Later: SALT In Review

From Pennsylvania's move toward a gross receipts tax on digital advertisers to news of yet another Fortune 500 company leaving New Jersey, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.

Economic Questions To Ask Amid Tariff Refund Class Actions

The U.S. Supreme Court's recent holding that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act doesn't authorize the president to impose tariffs has sparked class actions, but determining whether a retailer received a windfall is complex, even if it passed tariff costs into consumer prices before receiving a refund, say economists at Ankura Consulting Group.