State & Local
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November 18, 2024
NJ Revenue Collection Through Oct. Up $323M From Last Year
New Jersey's revenue collection from July through October was $323 million more than the same period in the last fiscal year, according to the state Department of the Treasury on Monday.
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November 15, 2024
The Tax Angle: TCJA Debate, S Corp. Compliance
From a look at congressional lawmakers ramping up their debate over the expiration of the GOP's 2017 tax overhaul law to the IRS' plans to provide more oversight for pass-through businesses and S corporations, here's a peek into a reporter's notebook on a few of the week's developing tax stories.
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November 15, 2024
Denver Voters Reject Sales Tax Hike For Affordable Housing
Denver voters narrowly rejected a ballot measure that would have increased the city's sales and use tax by 0.5 percentage points and dedicated the anticipated $100 million in revenue to the city's affordable housing efforts.
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November 15, 2024
Mass. Home's Value Should Be Lowered, Board Rules
A Massachusetts home in a flood plain should be granted a tax abatement of $860 and have its value lowered based on comparable sales in the area, the state Appellate Tax Board said in an opinion released Friday.
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November 15, 2024
La. House OKs Sales And Use Tax On Digital Goods In 2025
Louisiana would impose sales and use tax on certain digital goods and services starting next year as part of a bill passed by the state House of Representative.
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November 15, 2024
Mass. Court Refuses To Set Defective Condo's Value At Zero
The owner of a Massachusetts condominium unit that he claimed was uninhabitable and worth nothing was lawfully denied the valuation abatement he sought, a state appeals court said Friday, upholding a tax board decision.
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November 15, 2024
Detroit 'Rain Tax' Stormwater Fees Upheld By Appellate Court
Fees that Detroit charges property owners to maintain its stormwater drainage system are not illegal taxes, a Michigan Court of Appeals panel held, finding that although the charges are effectively compulsory, they are not subject to constitutional restrictions on tax increases.
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November 15, 2024
NY AI Regulation Bill May Impede Tax Dept. Operations
A pending New York bill that would create a first-in-the-nation oversight system for artificial intelligence usage in state agencies could present challenges for the state's tax department, which has long employed automated operations to flag suspicious returns and weed out fraud.
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November 15, 2024
Ga. Rule Would Clarify Applying Of Sales Tax To Digital Goods
Georgia's Department of Revenue would clarify what and how digital goods would be taxed under the state sales tax when the goods became taxable Jan. 1, the department announced in a proposed rule.
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November 15, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Cravath, MoFo, Gibson Dunn
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Cardinal Health takes a majority stake in GI Alliance and acquires Advanced Diabetes Supply Group, Just Eat offloads Grubhub to Wonder Group, Rivian Automotive and Volkswagen Group launch a joint venture, and Ovintiv Inc. buys Montney Basin assets from Paramount Resources Ltd.
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November 15, 2024
Ind. Proposes Changing Biz Sourcing To Market Location
Indiana would change how receipts are sourced to the state to a more market-based system, with remote services being taxable if those who receive the service are in the state, according to a rule proposed by the Department of State Revenue.
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November 15, 2024
Louisiana House Passes Part Of Sales Tax Overhaul
A proposal to ax dozens of sales and use tax exemptions and eliminate a planned reduction to Louisiana's 4.45% sales tax next year passed the state House of Representatives, moving forward elements of the governor's larger tax plan.
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November 14, 2024
Defense Attys Urge Justices To Narrow False Statement Law
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is supporting ex-Burke Warren MacKay & Serritella PC attorney and former Chicago alderman Patrick Thompson's bid to convince the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn his conviction for lying to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., arguing that the government's "broad" reading of the relevant statute infringes on constitutional rights.
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November 14, 2024
Albright Moves Apple Foes' Patent Suit To California
Waco's U.S. District Judge Alan Albright has decided to send a patent lawsuit lodged in his court against Apple to the tech giant's home of California, calling the "minimal local interest" provided by local tax breaks "strenuously tied to this case at best."
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November 14, 2024
NY Gov. Brings Back Manhattan Congestion Pricing Plan
The resurrection of New York City's plan to charge all vehicles a fee for entering Manhattan's busiest corridor demonstrates a mad dash in the final months of the Biden administration to expedite infrastructure projects perceived as political lightning rods before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
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November 14, 2024
DC Council Issues Housing Tax Break Emergency Resolution
The District of Columbia Council approved an emergency resolution to enact legislation to implement a competitive process for the provision of tax abatements for housing developments while a recently passed measure to permanently authorize that process faces congressional review before it becomes law.
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November 14, 2024
Colo. Tax Agency Floats MTC Reporting Rule For Partnerships
Colorado would implement partnership adjustment reporting requirements based on the model statute of the Multistate Tax Commission under a rule draft released by the state tax department to implement recent legislation.
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November 14, 2024
Amazon Tells SC Justices No Sales Tax Owed Pre-Wayfair
South Carolina's highest court should overturn an appeals court's opinion that Amazon was required prior to the landmark Wayfair decision to collect and remit sales tax on products sold on its marketplace in 2016 and owes the state $12.5 million in tax, the company told state justices.
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November 14, 2024
Mich. Lawmakers OK Research And Development Tax Credits
Michigan would offer a research and development tax credit up to $2 million for qualifying expenses under bills passed by the state Senate and sent to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
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November 14, 2024
HCA Healthcare, Fla. Dept. Reach Deal On $13.8M Tax Bill
HCA Healthcare Inc. and the Florida Department of Revenue have settled the company's claims that some of HCA's nonbusiness income was incorrectly classified as business income and a federal credit was not applied to HCA's $13.8 million corporate income tax assessment.
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November 14, 2024
Ohio General Revenue Collection Up $313M From Estimates
Ohio's total revenues from July through October beat estimates by $313 million, the state Office of Budget and Management reported.
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November 14, 2024
Ky. Revenues Through Oct. Rise $500K From Last Year
Kentucky general revenue collection from July through October rose roughly $500,000 compared with the same period last year, according to the Office of State Budget Director.
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November 14, 2024
Mass. Pitches Rule For Nonresident Apportionment
Massachusetts pass-through entities must apportion their income using the state's new single sales factor method to determine state income for their nonresident members, the state Department of Revenue said in a proposed regulation reflecting recent legislation.
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November 13, 2024
Boston Says Celebrity Chef Owes $1.6M In Taxes
The city of Boston is taking celebrity chef Barbara Lynch to court, alleging that for more than a decade she has failed to pay over $1.6 million in personal property taxes for her group of restaurants, which she is in the process of closing and attempting to sell.
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November 13, 2024
Detroit Fire Fee Ruling Concerns Mich. Justice
A Michigan Supreme Court justice on Wednesday said he was troubled by a lower appellate ruling he said seemed to imply that municipalities can work around a state law barring sneaky taxes, in this case by stating a charge for fire prevention services is really just the cost of a permit allowing property owners to do business in Detroit.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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A Tale Of 2 Trump Cases: The Rule Of Law Is A Live Issue
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this week in Trump v. U.S., holding that former President Donald Trump has broad immunity from prosecution, undercuts the rule of law, while the former president’s New York hush money conviction vindicates it in eight key ways, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.