State & Local
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April 22, 2024
Seattle Property Owners Can't Use COVID To Stop $160M Tax
A Washington appeals court said on Monday that Seattle can keep a $160 million property tax to pay for waterfront improvements, in an opinion that rejected an argument that diminished property values after COVID-19 should force the city to recalculate the tax.
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April 22, 2024
Pepperidge Farm Says P.L. 86-272 Bars Ill. Tax On NJ Affiliate
Pepperidge Farm asked the Illinois Independent Tax Tribunal to vacate a roughly $944,000 corporate tax assessment, arguing that P.L. 86-272 shielded an out-of-state affiliate's sales-related activities from Illinois income tax.
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April 22, 2024
Colo. Sales Tax Can't Touch Netflix Subscriptions, Judge Says
A Colorado judge has sided with Netflix Inc. in a fight with the state over whether its streaming service subscriptions are subject to sales tax, finding that because the subscriptions can't be physically touched, they don't fit the law's definition of "tangible" property.
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April 22, 2024
NY Creates New Affordable Housing, Conversion Tax Breaks
Developers in New York City could qualify for new property tax abatement programs for building affordable housing and converting office buildings into affordable housing units under the New York state budget that Democratic Gov. Kathy Hocul signed into law.
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April 22, 2024
Iowa Lowers Tax Rates For Captive Insurance Premiums
Iowa will lower the tax rates imposed on some captive insurance companies' reinsurance premiums under a bill signed into law by the governor.
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April 22, 2024
La. Water Pump Charge Dispute Will Go To Trial
A trial will be needed to decide whether two Louisiana water companies are correct in arguing that a conservation district's charges for pumping water are considered taxes, the state Board of Tax Appeals ruled.
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April 22, 2024
North Carolina Revenue Through March Up $434M
North Carolina's total revenue collection from July through March was $434 million higher than during the same period last year, according to a report by the state controller office.
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April 22, 2024
Miss. Tax Collections In March Top Previous Year By $34M
Mississippi collected $34 million more in tax revenue from July through March compared with the same period last year, the state Department of Revenue said.
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April 22, 2024
Alaska High Court Blocks City From Collecting Back Tax
An Alaskan city that successfully challenged the state's oil and gas property tax system can't assess taxes on the property from the start of the appeal nearly 20 years ago, the state's high court ruled.
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April 22, 2024
Minn. Tax Panel OKs Corp. Disclosures, Reporting Study
Minnesota would require disclosure of some tax information of large corporations and would examine the state's corporate tax base, including the prospect of worldwide combined reporting, under legislation approved by a House committee.
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April 22, 2024
Colo. To Forgive Underpayments Caused By State's Bad Info
Colorado will hold vendors harmless for underpayments of sales or use tax caused by errors in a state Department of Revenue information system database under a bill signed by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis.
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April 22, 2024
Ex-NJ Mayor Used Office To Get Job From Atty, AG Says
The former mayor of Wildwood, New Jersey, has been indicted on new charges accusing him of using his elected position to obtain a job from a city attorney and of not paying state taxes on his earnings from that position, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced Monday.
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April 22, 2024
Colo. Will Standardize Booking Sites' Reporting Requirements
Accommodation intermediaries used to book lodging in Colorado would be treated the same as a marketplace facilitator and won't be required to do additional reporting under a bill signed by Gov. Jared Polis.
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April 22, 2024
Trump, NY AG Reach Deal To OK $175M Fraud Appeal Bond
Donald Trump's lawyers agreed Monday to bond conditions requiring the former president to give up control of his $175 million cash deposit pending appeal of a $465 million civil fraud judgment, staving off scrutiny from both the New York attorney general and the judge who entered the award.
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April 22, 2024
NY Offers Tax Credits To News Cos. For Employee Costs
New York will offer income tax credits to independently owned print and broadcast news companies for job creation and retention under a budget bill signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
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April 22, 2024
Mo. Tax Board Says Horse Breeding Farm Is Agricultural Land
A Missouri property used to breed and care for horses that are shown at shows should have been classified as agricultural instead of commercial, the state tax commission ruled.
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April 22, 2024
Ohio City Tax Applies To Deloitte Remote Worker, Board Says
A former Deloitte employee who lived and worked outside Cincinnati during the coronavirus pandemic is liable for the city's income tax during the period after the Ohio Board of Tax Appeal ruled Monday that recent precedent in a similar case applied.
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April 22, 2024
Mass. Justices Say For-Profit Biz Can't Duck Billboard Tax
A for-profit advertisement company cannot get a tax exemption for its management of billboards owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, the state's high court said Monday.
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April 22, 2024
Colo. House OKs Ballot Measure On Betting Tax Revenue
Colorado voters would decide whether to let the state keep and spend certain sports betting tax revenue rather than refunding it to casinos under legislation passed by the state House to place the question on the November ballot.
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April 22, 2024
Okla. To Expand Property, Income Tax Break For Airports
Oklahoma will expand a property and income tax exemption for municipally owned airports in the state under a bill signed by the governor.
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April 22, 2024
Coverage Recap: Day 1 Of Trump's NY Hush Money Trial
Law360 reporters are providing live updates from the Manhattan criminal courthouse as Donald Trump goes on trial for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. Here's a full recap from day one.
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April 19, 2024
Trump On Verge Of Legal History As Full NY Jury Picked
Jury selection wrapped up Friday in the hush money trial of Donald Trump, setting the stage for opening statements to begin on Monday after a New York appeals court denied a last-ditch bid by the former president to delay the unprecedented case.
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April 19, 2024
Expedia's Win Against La. Hotel Taxes Upheld On Appeal
Expedia and some of its affiliates do not owe Louisiana sales taxes on the full price of accommodation rentals they charged to customers booking through their platforms, a Louisiana appeals court said, upholding a trial court decision.
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April 19, 2024
Iowa Senate OKs Expedited Transition To Flat Income Tax
Iowa would expedite the state's transition from a graduated individual income tax to a flat income tax and reduce the proposed flat tax rate under a bill the state Senate passed Friday.
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April 19, 2024
Oracle Appeals Mo. Denial Of $2.5M Use Tax Refund Claim
Oracle asked the Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission to overturn the state tax department's denial of a $2.5 million use tax refund claim, arguing that the company incorrectly invoiced the taxes to customers but subsequently refunded them the money.
Expert Analysis
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Looking Behind The Curtain Of Residential Transition Loans
As residential transition loans and securitizations of such loans grow increasingly popular, real estate stakeholders should take care to understand both the unique features and potential challenges offered by this novel asset class, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Where Tax Policies Go Wrong: SALT In Review
RSM's David Brunori reviews the worst tax policies employed by state and local governments, then critiques recent tax developments in Oregon, New York and Boston.
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Mallory Opinion Implicitly Overturned NC Sales Tax Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to review Quad Graphics v. North Carolina Department of Revenue, but importantly kicked the legs from under Quad's outcome a week later, stating in its Mallory decision that the high court has the prerogative to overrule its own decisions, says Richard Pomp at the University of Connecticut.
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Delicious In Conn., Less Tasty In La.: SALT In Review
From Connecticut reducing its beer tax to Louisiana retaining its franchise tax, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Review Of Repatriation Tax Sets Justices On Slippery Slope
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to review the constitutionality of the repatriation tax in Moore v. U.S. has implications for many tax rules involving unrealized amounts and could leave the court on the brink of invalidating large swaths of the Internal Revenue Code, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.
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How To Avoid A Zombie Office Building Apocalypse
With national office vacancy rates approaching 20%, policymakers, investors and developers will need to come together in order to prevent this troubling trend from sucking the life out of business districts or contaminating the broader real estate market, say Ryan Sommers and Robyn Minter Smyers at Thompson Hine.
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Ohio Tax Talk: Building On Federal Affordable Housing Credit
Ohio's soon-to-be-implemented low-income housing tax credit could significantly affect the state's affordable housing landscape and influence tax-credit deal financing for these projects, though Senate changes may have dampened the new credit's immense potential, say Raghav Agnihotri and Rachael Chamberlain at Frost Brown.
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Holding These Truths Incontrovertible: SALT In Review
RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news, beginning with "almost irrefutable" observations delivered at a recent tax seminar.
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LA's High-Value Real Estate Transfer Tax Should Be Scrapped
Los Angeles’ recently implemented high-value property transfer tax has chilled the real estate market, is failing to meet revenue expectations and raises significant constitutional concerns, making it a flawed piece of legislation that should be invalidated, says attorney Paul Weinberg.
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Avoiding Negative Tax Consequences In Loan Modifications
Borrowers who may be caught in the dramatic uptick in nonperforming commercial real estate loans should consider strategies to avoid income and capital gains tax that may be triggered by loan modifications, says Aman Badyal at Glaser Weil.
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Chapter 100 Incentives Can Offer Relief For Mo. Solar Projects
Although the Missouri Supreme Court's decision last year in Johnson v. Springfield Solar 1 overturned the state's tax exemption for solar energy systems, solar developers may still be able to use other mechanisms, like Chapter 100 incentives, to offset project costs, say Lizzy McEntire and Anna Kimbrell at Husch Blackwell.
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Now Is The Time For State And Local Sales Tax Simplification
In the five years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, state and local governments increasingly rely on sales tax, but simple changes are needed to make compliance more manageable for taxpayers, wherever located, without unduly burdening interstate commerce, says Charles Maniace at Sovos.
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Connecticut Tax Cuts And Missouri Movies: SALT In Review
From income tax cuts in Connecticut to film tax credits in Missouri, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.