State & Local

  • December 04, 2024

    Ohio Clarifies Sales Tax Exception For Food Manufacturing

    An Ohio sales and use tax exception for property used in manufacturing applies to cleaning supplies used in food production and not just cleaning supplies used in the production of dairy products, the state Department of Taxation clarified in adopted regulatory amendments.

  • December 04, 2024

    Ind. Tax Board Says Waste Hauler's Equipment Not Taxable

    An Indiana-based waste management company was wrongly assessed personal property tax on front-end lifts attached to its garbage trucks, the state's Board of Tax Review said.

  • December 04, 2024

    Uber Didn't Have To Collect Tax Pre-Wayfair, Court Told

    Uber was not required before the Wayfair decision to collect and remit millions in sales taxes on behalf of drivers and customers who use its app, an attorney for the ride-hailing company told a Georgia appellate panel Wednesday, urging the panel to overturn a trial court.

  • December 04, 2024

    Sunoco Not Owed $2.6M NY Tax Refund, Tribunal Affirms

    Sunoco affiliates cannot include oil sales to third parties intended as inventory exchanges when computing the company's business activity allocable to New York, the state Tax Appeals Tribunal ruled, affirming the state's denial of a $2.6 million refund.

  • December 04, 2024

    Mich. Justices Pan Due Process Claim In Tax Appeal Dispute

    Two Michigan Supreme Court justices expressed skepticism Wednesday toward a packaging company's arguments that its due process rights were violated when an assessor's notice of a tax exemption denial didn't provide all the information the business needed to appeal.

  • December 04, 2024

    Block's Tax Refund Should Be Voided, Atlanta Tells Ga. Court

    A Georgia trial court erred when it found that Block, the financial services and mobile payments company, was due a $330,000 occupation tax refund from the city of Atlanta, a lawyer for the city told an appellate panel Wednesday.

  • December 04, 2024

    Ala. Dept. OKs Regs To Implement Tourism Project Tax Breaks

    The Alabama Department of Revenue adopted regulations to implement recently enacted tax rebates for companies that operate qualifying tourism projects, according to a notice published by the state Legislative Services Agency.

  • December 04, 2024

    Reed Smith Adds State Tax Partner To San Francisco Office

    Reed Smith LLP added a partner to its national state tax practice who will work out of its San Francisco office, according to the firm.

  • December 04, 2024

    Ind. Tax Board Cuts Valuation Of Self-Storage Property

    An Indiana storage unit facility's $1.06 million valuation was reduced after the state Board of Tax Review determined it should revert to the prior year's assessment of $915,000 because the owner and county assessor failed to accurately appraise the property.

  • December 04, 2024

    Oracle Can't Seek Fla. Tax Refunds Without Repaying Clients

    Oracle can't obtain refunds for Florida state and local taxes that it improperly collected on sales of electronically delivered software to three businesses because the company didn't reimburse those customers first, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday.

  • December 03, 2024

    Calif. Furniture Chain Owner Owes Fraud Penalty, OTA Says

    The owner of a California furniture stores chain committed sales tax fraud, and the relevant tax agency was correct in charging him a 25% fraud penalty and in finding he had more than $6.4 million in unreported taxable sales, the state Office of Tax Appeals ruled.

  • December 03, 2024

    Calif. Senate Bill Seeks To Shield Tips From Income Tax

    California would exclude tips from gross income for state personal income tax purposes under a bill introduced in the state Senate.

  • December 03, 2024

    Calif. OTA Denies Architect Firm's R&D Tax Credit Claim

    The California Office of Tax Appeals denied an architectural firm's claim of research and development tax credits, saying the firm failed to substantiate the amount of time its employees dedicated to qualifying research activities.

  • December 03, 2024

    Calif. Bill Seeks Constitutional Amendment To Curb Tax Hikes

    California would declare state lawmakers' intent to amend the state constitution to limit the state and local governments' power to raise taxes as part of a bill introduced in the Assembly.

  • December 03, 2024

    Calif. OTA Says LLC Interest Sale Invalid For Tax Purposes

    A sale of limited liability company interest between business partners in California can't be used to offset cancellation of debt income stemming from a Texas apartment complex that the LLC owned, the California Office of Tax Appeals ruled.

  • December 03, 2024

    Calif. OTA Rejects Subtraction For Pension, Annuities

    A California taxpayer isn't entitled to a subtraction adjustment for pension and annuities earned outside the state, because the pension money put the taxpayer in a higher bracket, the state Office of Tax Appeals said in a ruling released Tuesday. 

  • December 03, 2024

    Fried Frank Adds Goodwin Procter Tax Pro As Partner In NY

    Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP announced Tuesday that a Goodwin Procter LLP tax and business law partner has joined the firm and will serve as a partner in Fried Frank's tax department in New York.

  • December 03, 2024

    Ore. Offers Few Tax Changes In Gov.'s $37B Budget Plan

    Oregon would make small changes to its tax policy under a $37 billion biennial general fund budget proposed by the state's governor, who left open how to fund some proposed expenditures.

  • December 03, 2024

    Ark. Revenues Through Nov. Outpace Estimate By $11M

    Arkansas' net revenue collection from July through November beat forecasts by $11 million, according to the state Department of Finance and Administration in a report released Tuesday.

  • December 02, 2024

    Novo Nordisk Loses Research Credit Tax Fight In Calif. OTA

    Novo Nordisk must include a former affiliate's research expenses from the year it wound down when determining the corporate group's California research credits for later years, the state's Office of Tax Appeals ruled in an opinion released Monday that upheld a $670,000 tax assessment.

  • December 02, 2024

    NC GOP-Led Senate OKs Reducing Income Tax Cap

    North Carolina's income tax cap would fall to 5%, instead of the 7% currently in the state constitution under a constitutional amendment approved Monday by the state Senate.

  • December 02, 2024

    Calif. OTA Says City Must Share $1.2M Jet Fuel Tax Revenue

    A California city must reallocate $1.2 million in use tax revenue received from sale of jet fuel to several other cities, the state Office of Tax Appeals ruled in an opinion released Monday, despite the city's claim that tax revenue should be allocated to the seller's place of business.

  • December 02, 2024

    Cargo Facility Merits Property Tax Break, Mass. Justices Told

    A property leased from the Massachusetts Port Authority to a for-profit cargo enterprise is exempt from property tax because the facility serves a public purpose, the lessee told the state's highest court Monday, urging reversal of a tax board decision.

  • December 02, 2024

    A&O Shearman Tax Pro Jumps To Hogan Lovells In DC

    Hogan Lovells said Monday that it has brought on a former Allen Overy Shearman Sterling tax partner who specializes in spinoffs, cross-border deals and other corporate transactions.

  • December 02, 2024

    Ohio Tax Dept. Finalizes Rules Defining Transient Guests

    Individual rooms set aside for sleeping in a stand-alone structure are considered sleeping accommodations, the Ohio Department of Taxation clarified in a finalized rule Monday.

Expert Analysis

  • Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content

    Author Photo

    From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.

  • Tax Assessment: Recapping Georgia's Legislative Session

    Author Photo

    Jonathan Feldman and Alla Raykin at Eversheds Sutherland examine tax-related changes from Georgia’s General Assembly — such as the governor’s successful push to accelerate income tax cuts — and suggest steps to take before certain tax incentives are challenged in the state's next legislative session.

  • Geothermal Energy Has Growing Potential In The US

    Author Photo

    Bipartisan support for the geothermal industry shows that geothermal energy can be an elegant solution toward global decarbonization efforts because of its small footprint, low supply chain risk, and potential to draw on the skills of existing highly specialized oil and gas workers and renewable specialists, say attorneys at Weil.

  • Bad Ideas That Won't Go Away: SALT In Review

    Author Photo

    From California's latest move toward a digital ad tax to Kansas' proposed tax credits for film production, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.

  • Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance

    Author Photo

    A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.

  • Trump Hush Money Case Offers Master Class In Trial Strategy

    Author Photo

    The New York criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump typifies some of the greatest challenges that lawyers face in crafting persuasive presentations, providing lessons on how to handle bad facts, craft a simple story that withstands attack, and cross-examine with that story in mind, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System

    Author Photo

    As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Kentucky Tax Talk: Budget Focus Cools Tax Reform Efforts

    Author Photo

    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.

  • NY Tax Talk: Primary Function Is Key Analysis For Sales Tax

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Time To Fix NYC's Broken Property Assessment System

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Strange Notions Bubble Up: SALT In Review

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert

    Author Photo

    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.

Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Tax Authority State & Local archive.