State & Local
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September 27, 2024
Mich. Bills Seek To Create Aerospace R&D Credits
Michigan would create a research and development tax credit for aerospace and defense businesses, for up to $5 million per taxpayer annually, under bills introduced in the state Senate.
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September 27, 2024
Delta, PacifiCorp Intangibles Taxable, Ore. Tells State Justices
Oregon's tax court was wrong to exempt Delta Air Lines from taxation of its intangible property and was correct to refuse the exemption for energy provider PacifiCorp, the state's tax department told the Oregon Supreme Court.
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September 27, 2024
La. Dept. Says No Tax Due On Casinos' Gifts To Patrons
Louisiana casinos and gambling businesses are not subject to the state's sales and use tax for complimentary items they give to patrons as incentives, the state Department of Revenue said in a notice.
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September 27, 2024
Tenn. Water Treatment Plant's Piping Ruled Tax-Exempt
Tennessee sales and use tax won't apply to contractors' purchases of piping used in the expansion of a municipal water treatment plant, the state Department of Revenue said in a ruling.
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September 27, 2024
Ind. Tax Dept. Says Ky. Truck Driver Wrongly Taxed
A Kentucky truck driver who worked for an Indiana-based company was incorrectly assessed local income tax for the county where the business is located, the Indiana Department of State Revenue said in a letter ruling.
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September 27, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Skadden, Cleary
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners acquire Smartsheet Inc., Macquarie Asset Management takes a stake in D.E. Shaw Renewables Investment Group, and Apogee Enterprises Inc. buys UW Interco LLC from Heartwood Partners.
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September 27, 2024
Vt. General Revenue Through Aug. Gets $30M Boost
Vermont's general revenue collection from July through August beat the total from the same period last year by roughly $30 million, according to the state Agency for Administration.
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September 26, 2024
Pa. Supreme Court Upholds Taxes On Like-Kind Exchanges
A group of Pennsylvania real estate partners owe the state personal income tax assessed on their like-kind exchange, Pennsylvania's highest court ruled Thursday, with the majority upholding a lower court finding that the state Department of Revenue correctly issued the assessment.
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September 26, 2024
Colo. Property Tax Deferral Program Could Balloon, Panel Told
Use of a property tax deferral program in Colorado is expected to rise under a recent legislative change opening it to nearly all property owners, the state's treasurer told a legislative commission Thursday, calling the extent of the program's growth difficult to predict.
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September 26, 2024
Ohio Justices Nix Woodland Deduction Rate As Arbitrarily Low
The Ohio Supreme Court ordered the state's tax commissioner Thursday to recompute the value of a deduction for clearing woodlands that factors into assessments of agricultural properties, agreeing with a group of landowners who argued the figure was set arbitrarily low.
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September 26, 2024
Calif. Revives Tax Breaks For Manufacture Property
California reinstated a capital investment incentive program that allows local governments to offer partial property tax abatements for qualified manufacturing facilities and expanded the program to include qualifying projects that make lower initial investments under a bill signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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September 26, 2024
Pa. Justices Reject New Tax Hearing For Charter School
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court erred in sending a charter school's retroactive property tax appeal back to a county board, because the charter school had failed to exhaust statutory remedies, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
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September 26, 2024
NJ Atty Rips AG For 'Grossly Distorted' Power Broker Case
A New Jersey attorney charged in the state's sweeping indictment against power broker George E. Norcross III accused the Attorney General's Office on Thursday of "attempting to criminalize the routine practice of law" with its charges against him.
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September 26, 2024
Ind. Tax Dept. Abates Beverage Co.'s Late Filing Penalty
A penalty assessed to an Indiana beverage company for a late corporate income tax filing will be abated, as the delay wasn't due to willful neglect, the Department of State Revenue said in a letter of finding.
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September 26, 2024
Ind. Couple Wrongly Denied Credit For Ky. Local Income Tax
An Indiana couple was wrongly denied an income tax credit for local income tax paid by one spouse while working in Kentucky, but the couple will continue to owe additional tax, the Indiana Department of State Revenue said in a letter of finding.
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September 26, 2024
NY Appeals Court Casts Doubt On $489M Trump Judgment
Judges on a New York state appeals court expressed skepticism Thursday of a $489 million civil fraud judgment against Donald Trump, his sons, companies and their executives, raising the prospect that the fine awarded to the attorney general could be reduced or vacated.
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September 26, 2024
Ind. S Corp. Not Subject To County Income Tax, Dept. Says
An Indiana S corporation was wrongly assessed county income tax on distributions to its lone, out-of-state shareholder, the Department of State Revenue said, because that shareholder was not employed in the state.
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September 25, 2024
Pa. Panel Says Misspellings Don't Sink Service Of Tax Notice
The misspelling of a landowner's name on a notice of an impending tax sale did not prevent the owner from understanding their property would be auctioned off to cover unpaid taxes, a Pennsylvania appellate court ruled Wednesday.
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September 25, 2024
Remote Sales Tax Compliance Burdens Small Biz, Senate Told
The 2018 Wayfair decision has burdened small businesses with significant compliance costs to collect and remit taxes in thousands of jurisdictions across the U.S., state tax experts told a U.S. Senate subcommittee Wednesday.
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September 25, 2024
IBM Urges Justices To Review NY Tax On Foreign Royalties
New York's system for taxing royalty payments would be unconstitutional if every other jurisdiction adopted it, violating an internal consistency test reaffirmed by a 2015 precedent, IBM told the U.S. Supreme Court in asking it to review and overturn New York's high court ruling that allowed the tax regime.
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September 25, 2024
Colo. Panel OKs Expanding Sales Tax License Search Engine
Colorado would expand its online search function for sales and use tax licenses and exemption certificates to allow searches by a retailer's name and federal identification number under draft legislation approved by a legislative task force Wednesday.
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September 25, 2024
Colo. Sales Tax Panel OKs More Confidentiality In Audits
Third-party sales tax audits performed on behalf of local jurisdictions in Colorado would face increased confidentiality standards under draft legislation approved Wednesday by a legislative panel.
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September 25, 2024
Dept. Asks Mich. Justices To Tackle Unitary Tax Case
The Michigan Supreme Court should review an appellate court decision that found that insurance companies that are part of Nationwide should file their taxes as a unitary group because the case poses a significant public impact, the state Treasury Department said.
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September 25, 2024
Texas Court Denies District's Attempt To Boost Valuations
A Texas trial court didn't err in throwing out a counterclaim brought by a local appraisal district to increase the assessed values of two multifamily properties, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday.
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September 25, 2024
NJ Bill Would Hike Threshold For Tax On Property Transfers
New Jersey would raise the threshold for the imposition of a controlling interest transfer tax or an additional fee on transfers of various kinds of real property under a bill introduced in the state Assembly.
Expert Analysis
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data
Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Kentucky Tax Talk: Budget Focus Cools Tax Reform Efforts
There were some noteworthy tax developments during Kentucky’s legislative session — like the revival of local tax reform and enactment of another tax amnesty program — but major tax initiatives, like those seen in recent years, were largely tabled as legislators focused on establishing the state’s two-year budget, say attorneys at Frost Brown.
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NY Tax Talk: Primary Function Is Key Analysis For Sales Tax
Two sales tax cases recently decided by New York's Appellate Division illustrate why both taxpayers and the state's Department of Revenue subscribe to the primary function test, a logical way to determine whether business transactions are subject to sales tax, say Elizabeth Cha and Jeremy Gove at Eversheds Sutherland.
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Time To Fix NYC's Broken Property Assessment System
A New York appellate court's decision to revive Tax Equity Now New York v. City of New York may force the city to revamp its outdated and unfair real estate tax assessment system, which could be fixed with a couple of simple changes, says Seth Feldman at Romer Debbas.
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Strange Notions Bubble Up: SALT In Review
From an assault on North Carolina's phaseout of its corporate income tax to a court ruling on the taxability of sparkling water in Pennsylvania, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert
As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic
Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals
Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.
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4 Ways To Refresh Your Law Firm's Marketing Strategy
With many BigLaw firms relying on an increasingly obsolete marketing approach that prioritizes stiff professionalism over authentic connection, adopting a few key communications strategies to better connect with today's clients and prospects can make all the difference, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law.
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Consider 2 Alternative Exit Plans In RE Distress Scenarios
In the face of an impending wave of foreclosures, lenders and borrowers alike should consider two exit strategies — deed-in-lieu of foreclosure and consent foreclosure — that can mitigate potential costs and diminution in property value that could be incurred during a lengthy proceeding, say attorneys at BCLP.
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SC's Courts Have It Wrong On Amazon Marketplace Sales Tax
The South Carolina Supreme Court should step in and correct the misguided change in tax law effectuated by lower court rulings that found Amazon owes state sales tax for marketplace sales made prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Wayfair v. South Dakota decision in 2018, says Hayes Holderness at the University of Richmond.
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Constitutional Shenanigans And Other Sports: SALT In Review
From a challenge to New York's end run on a federal law to voters' rejection of a sales tax that would aid Kansas City's major league teams, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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This Earth Day, Consider How Your Firm Can Go Greener
As Earth Day approaches, law firms and attorneys should consider adopting more sustainable practices to reduce their carbon footprint — from minimizing single-use plastics to purchasing carbon offsets for air travel — which ultimately can also reduce costs for clients, say M’Lynn Phillips and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.