State & Local
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May 21, 2024
Strategic Hiring Was The New Normal For BigLaw In 2023
The 400 largest law firms by headcount in the U.S. grew more slowly in 2023 than in the previous two years, while Kirkland & Ellis LLP surpassed the 3,000-attorney threshold, according to the latest Law360 ranking.
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May 21, 2024
The Law360 400: Tracking The Largest US Law Firms
The legal market expanded more tentatively in 2023 than in previous years amid a slowdown in demand for legal services, especially in transactions, an area that has been sluggish but is expected to quicken in the latter half of the coming year.
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May 20, 2024
NY Senate Approves Making Usage Of Tax 'Zappers' A Felony
New York would make it a crime to make, sell, install or use software used to falsify electronic records to avoid taxes under legislation passed by the state Senate on Monday.
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May 20, 2024
Virginia Co. Can't Escape Tax After Exiting Bankruptcy
A Virginia company that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy is on the hook for a disputed corporate income tax assessment because the liability occurred after the company emerged from bankruptcy, the state's tax commissioner said.
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May 20, 2024
Va. Woman Owes Additional Income Tax, Commissioner Finds
A Virginia woman's adjusted gross income was correctly increased by the state Department of Taxation based on information from the Internal Revenue Service, the state tax commission said.
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May 20, 2024
Va. Construction Biz's Workers Not Employees, Tax Head Says
A Virginia construction company was wrongly assessed withholding tax, the state's tax commissioner said, finding the company's workers should have been considered independent contractors rather than employees.
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May 20, 2024
Va. Tax Head Nixes Assessment Transfer To Org's Tax Contact
The Virginia Department of Taxation incorrectly transferred the withholding tax assessments of an organization to the woman listed as the organization's withholding tax contact, the state tax commissioner ruled.
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May 20, 2024
Vt. General Revenue Collection Up $38M From Last Year
Vermont general revenue collection from July through April exceeded last year's total by $38 million, according to a monthly report by the state Agency of Administration.
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May 20, 2024
Va. Tax Head Nixes Drywall Co.'s Withholding Tax Assessment
A Virginia drywall business was improperly assessed withholding tax after the Department of Taxation claimed the business had incorrectly classified employees as contract workers, the state tax commissioner ruled.
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May 20, 2024
Ex-Conn. Town Atty Sues Over 'False' Ethics Complaint
Former Newington, Connecticut, town attorney Benjamin Ancona Jr. and other former officials took the Hartford-area suburb to state court claiming the town's assessor and others defamed them in and regarding a now-dismissed ethics complaint that was purportedly loaded with false statements.
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May 20, 2024
Tenn. Tax Collection Falls $494M Short Of Estimate
Tennessee's tax revenue collection from August through April underperformed a budget projection by $494 million, the state Department of Finance and Administration said in a report.
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May 20, 2024
Utah Revenue Through April Rises $19M From Prior Year
Utah collected $19 million more in net general revenue from July through April than it did during the same period last fiscal year, the state Tax Commission reported.
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May 20, 2024
Colo. To Impose Fee On Car Rentals To Fund Rail Projects
Colorado will impose a daily fee on vehicle rentals to raise funding for rail and transit infrastructure projects under legislation signed by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis that could be subject to litigation or a challenge at the ballot box.
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May 20, 2024
Iowa Exempts Rentals Between Affiliates From Sales, Use Tax
Iowa exempts certain leases or rentals between affiliates from the state's 6% sales and use tax under a bill signed by the governor.
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May 20, 2024
Feds Fight Proposed Delay In Hunter Biden's Tax Trial
Hunter Biden shouldn't be allowed to delay his criminal tax trial in California just because his lead attorney says the dates run up against Biden's upcoming trial in Delaware on firearms charges, the special counsel's office told a federal court.
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May 20, 2024
Va. Revenue Through April Grows $1.1B From Prior Year
Virginia general revenue collection from July through April was up by $1.1 billion compared with the same period last fiscal year, according to a statement from the state Department of Accounts.
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May 20, 2024
NJ Panel Advances Tax Credit Boost For Tech Co. Investments
A New Jersey Assembly committee advanced a bill that would increase tax credits offered under the state's angel investor tax credit program for investments in certain technology businesses.
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May 17, 2024
Mich. $3.4M Sales Tax Bill Is Wrong, Sneaker Site Tells Court
The Michigan Treasury Department incorrectly calculated a sneaker resale site's sales tax liability from 2017 through 2019, as the site is a marketplace facilitator required to collect tax beginning in 2020, the site told the state Court of Claims.
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May 17, 2024
Home Distillers Tell Feds Ban Fails Under Spirit Of The Law
The Hobby Distillers Association said the federal government is exceeding its constitutional powers and treading on states' rights by banning homemade liquor under its taxing authority, as the group laid out its position Friday at the request of a Texas federal judge.
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May 17, 2024
Md. To Allow Disclosure Of Tax Info For Compliance Efforts
Maryland will allow the disclosure of tax information to outside parties to assist the state comptroller's tax compliance efforts under a bill signed by the governor.
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May 17, 2024
Fla. Appeals Court Nixes Condo Tax Sale After Address Mix-Up
A Florida state appeals panel authored a split decision ordering a lower district court to reverse a tax deed sale after a property owner in Miami-Dade claimed the county's clerk of court failed to provide notice that his condo was being put up for sale due to a delinquent tax bill.
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May 17, 2024
Credit Suisse Can't Reverse $21.3M Biz Loss Denial
Credit Suisse cannot carry forward $21.3 million in business losses from 2015-2017 to its 2018 Michigan tax return, a state appeals court said, letting stand a ruling that the bank miscalculated its business income from those years on its returns.
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May 17, 2024
Ark. High Court Nixes $35M Hotel Tax Bill On Travel Cos.
An Arkansas circuit court erred in finding that online travel companies such as Hotels.com and Expedia were on the hook for $35 million in unpaid hotel taxes, the state's Supreme Court ruled, finding that a decades-old tax statute didn't apply to them.
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May 17, 2024
Md. Allows County To Add Excise Tax On Telecom Services
Maryland will authorize the state's second-most populous county to impose an excise tax on telecommunications services in addition to the county's sales and use tax on such services under a bill signed by the governor.
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May 17, 2024
Ohio School Board Can't Appeal Property Value To Court
An Ohio school board is prohibited from appealing a board of revision's valuation of a property that the school board didn't own to a court of common pleas, a state appeals court ruled.
Transparency Act Violates Constitution, Groups Tell 11th Circ.
The Corporate Transparency Act's reporting requirements violate the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination and other constitutional provisions, libertarian think tank Cato Institute and others said Monday in urging the Eleventh Circuit to uphold an Alabama district court's ruling against the law.
Mo. Lawmakers OK Fee Carveout For Streaming, Satellite Cos.
Missouri would exempt streaming and satellite TV companies from local franchise fees that cable companies pay under a bill headed to the governor's desk after the state House of Representatives gave its approval Friday.
Kansas Gov. Vetoes Tax Omnibus, Calls For Special Session
Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has vetoed three tax bills, one of which would have restructured the state's income tax brackets and made other tax changes, saying the plan was too costly for the state.
Editor's Pick
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Law360 Revenue Report Map Tracks Health Of State Coffers
As state coffers fluctuate because of federal pandemic aid drying up, demographics shifting and remote work becoming commonplace, Law360 Tax Authority is providing up-to-date coverage on state tax revenue with the launch of its Revenue Report Map.
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Nev. Sales Tax Revenue In Jan. Rises $23.8M From Last Year
Nevada brought in $23.8 million more in sales tax revenue in January than in the same month last year, the state Department of Taxation said in a monthly report.
Featured Stories
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In Hush Money Case, Jury May Choose To Keep Silent, Too
Though Donald Trump's gag order violations have earned him a threat of jail time, First Amendment experts say jurors in the New York case will likely be free to speak their mind afterward if they want to — a dynamic that in rare instances has led to posttrial controversy.
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Use Of AI For Tax Comment Letters Poses Ethical Quandaries
While artificial intelligence can streamline the process of conducting a comprehensive review of complex, IRS-proposed federal tax regulations, tax attorneys must be aware of professional and ethical considerations when using it to help draft comment letters to submit to the agency.
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Calif. OTA In Untested Area On Ruling That Biz Wants Binding
A decision by California's Office of Tax Appeals that Microsoft can include 100% of the dividends from foreign affiliates in its California sales factor denominator pleased businesses, who now want the OTA to designate the opinion as precedential, thus binding on it and the state Franchise Tax Board.
Expert Analysis
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Geothermal Energy Has Growing Potential In The US
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.
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Bad Ideas That Won't Go Away: SALT In Review
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.
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Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance
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.
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Trump Hush Money Case Offers Master Class In Trial Strategy
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.
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A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System
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.
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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.