State & Local
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March 20, 2024
How The Supreme Court Could Narrow Chevron
After hours of oral argument in a closely watched administrative law case, it appeared that some U.S. Supreme Court justices could be open to limiting the opportunities for lower courts to defer to federal agencies' legal interpretations in disputes over rulemaking — and legal experts said there are a number of ways they could do it.
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March 20, 2024
IRS Withholding Docs On Partnership Audits, Baker Atty Says
The Internal Revenue Service has not responded to a request for documents pertaining to the agency's scrutiny of large partnerships and should be forced to disclose them, an attorney with Baker McKenzie told a D.C. federal court.
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March 20, 2024
Breaking Down Each State's Climate Priority Policies
Forty-five states have now completed climate action plans outlining how they'll advance federal climate goals through policy and programs in coming years, with most focusing at least in part on real estate development as a way to reduce emissions.
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March 20, 2024
Law360 Announces The Members Of Its 2024 Editorial Boards
Law360 is pleased to announce the formation of its 2024 Editorial Advisory Boards.
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March 20, 2024
King & Spalding Adds Ex-PwC Tax Pro As Partner In NY
An experienced tax attorney has joined King & Spalding LLP in New York after working at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for six years.
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March 19, 2024
Chicago Voters Nix Tiered Rates On Real Estate Transfer Tax
Chicago voters rejected a contentious referendum Tuesday night that would have authorized the city to impose tiered real estate transfer tax rates including an increase for properties sold at $1 million and higher.
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March 19, 2024
Iowa Proposed Constitutional Amendment Seeks Flat Tax
Iowa would prohibit a graduated income tax rate and require corporate or individual income tax increases to be passed with a two-thirds vote under a proposed constitutional amendment introduced in the state House of Representatives.
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March 19, 2024
NJ Updates Compliance With Tax Pact
The New Jersey Division of Taxation readopted and amended regulations to maintain its compliance with the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, the division announced Tuesday.
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March 19, 2024
10th Circ. Told Colo. Tax Ballot Title Law Flouts Constitution
A Colorado law requiring that financial impacts be included in the titles of some tax-related ballot initiatives is unconstitutional and should be overturned, a conservative group told the Tenth Circuit on Tuesday.
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March 19, 2024
NC Panel Rules Nonprofit Not Entitled To Tax Exemption
A North Carolina manufactured home community doesn't qualify for a charitable tax exemption because providing land for housing units isn't considered equivalent to providing affordable housing for low-income individuals, the state appeals court ruled Tuesday.
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March 19, 2024
AT&T Entity Challenges $78.5M R&D Tax Credit Denial In NJ
New Jersey's tax agency improperly denied an AT&T entity's attempt to carry forward nearly $78.5 million in research and development tax credits from closed tax years to an open tax year, the company argued in the state Tax Court.
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March 19, 2024
Ind. Board Finds Hobby Lobby Church Property Tax-Exempt
An Indiana church property that is owned by retailer Hobby Lobby and leased to a religious organization should be granted a property tax exemption, the state Board of Tax Review determined.
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March 19, 2024
Md. House OKs Special Tax Rates For Vacant Property
Maryland would let the Baltimore city council and county governments in the state impose special tax rates on vacant or abandoned property under a bill passed by the House of Delegates.
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March 19, 2024
Tenn. Committee OKs Franchise Tax Overhaul, $1.6B Rebate
Tennessee would revise its franchise tax and rebate about $1.6 billion in past payments under legislation approved Tuesday by a Senate committee over objections from the lone opponent on the panel that its funding mechanism was not clear.
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March 19, 2024
Ind. Tax Board Upholds Hotel's Valuation For Pandemic Years
A Holiday Inn-branded hotel was correctly valued by a local assessor, the Indiana Board of Tax Review determined after agreeing that the assessor's valuation better reflected the market conditions of the area during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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March 19, 2024
Colo. Panel OKs Expanding Historic Structure Tax Credit
Colorado would expand its tax credit for preservation of historic structures, reducing the age requirement for the properties, postponing the sunset of the credit and making other changes under legislation passed by the state House panel.
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March 19, 2024
Md. House OKs Property Tax Credits For Residential Projects
Local governments in Maryland would be authorized to grant property tax credits for certain hotel and residential developments that include affordable housing under legislation approved by the state House of Delegates.
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March 19, 2024
Utah Approves Income Tax Rate Cut
Utah's flat income tax rate will drop from 4.65% to 4.55% under a bill signed into law.
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March 19, 2024
Minn. House OKs Retroactive NOL Deduction Fix
Minnesota would retroactively delay the effective date of a cut to its allowable income tax deduction for net operating losses under legislation passed by the state House of Representative to correct an error in previous legislation.
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March 19, 2024
Md. House OKs Replacing EV Tax Credit With Rebate
The Maryland House of Delegates passed a bill that would repeal the state's electric vehicle excise tax credit and replace it with a rebate.
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March 18, 2024
Trump Can't Use Quasi-Advice Of Counsel Defense In NY Trial
Donald Trump cannot use an informal "presence of counsel" defense in the Manhattan district attorney's hush money case against him, a New York judge ruled Monday, rejecting a strategy that would have allowed the former president to blame his ex-attorneys without having to divulge details about the purported legal advice.
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March 18, 2024
Amazon Loses Rehearing Bid In $12.5M SC Sales Tax Dispute
Amazon does not merit a rehearing of a South Carolina appeals court panel ruling that the online retail giant owes the state $12.5 million in sales tax for marketplace sales made before the landmark Wayfair decision, the panel said Monday.
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March 18, 2024
NY Gov. Audits Pot Regulator After Troubled Rollout
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday announced an audit of the Empire State's embattled cannabis regulator to address the rocky implementation of the adult-use marijuana market, which has been plagued by delays, litigation and an explosion of unlicensed sellers.
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March 18, 2024
NJ Assembly OKs Easing Biz Tax Credit Rules
New Jersey would permanently relax the on-site employee location requirements for businesses claiming certain tax credits or grants as part of a bill passed Monday by the state Assembly.
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March 18, 2024
La. Tax Board Says Grainger Must Give Info On Other Protests
Industrial manufacturing and services company W.W. Grainger must provide documents relating to administrative protests in other states as it disputes its Louisiana corporate tax liability, the state Board of Tax Appeals ruled.
Expert Analysis
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Why I'll Miss Arguing Before Justice Breyer
Carter Phillips at Sidley shares some of his fondest memories of retiring Justice Stephen Breyer both inside and out of the courtroom, and explains why he thinks the justice’s multipronged questions during U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments were everything an advocate could ask for.
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Texas Tax Talk: Comptroller Appeals May Fuel Litigation
This Texas Supreme Court term has seen a very active comptroller bringing particularly aggressive arguments on appeal, such as those stretching the statutory language for tax liability, in a trend that could force taxpayers to litigate positions they thought were secure, say attorneys at Baker Botts.
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How Justice Breyer Influenced State Tax Jurisprudence
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who announced his retirement last week, leaves behind a series of notable decisions that will continue to shape state and local taxation, especially in the areas of the commerce and equal protection clauses, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.
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Takeaways From 6th Circ.'s RE Tax Foreclosure Ruling
The Sixth Circuit's recent decision in Lowry v. Southfield sheds light on when exactly real estate tax foreclosures can be avoided as fraudulent transfers, and could potentially impede municipalities' ability to collect unpaid property taxes through tax sales, says Scott Bernstein at Skolnick Legal Group.
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Pa. High Court Tax Refund Ruling Leaves Questions
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's recent General Motors v. Commonwealth tax decision deciding the constitutionality of limitations on net loss deductions and net loss carryovers raises questions about retroactivity, remedies in future cases, and financial statements, says Michael Semes at BakerHostetler.
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Top 10 SALT Developments Of 2021: Part 2
Attorneys at Grant Thornton continue their countdown of the 10 biggest state and local tax issues of 2021, including pass-through entity tax regimes, American Rescue Plan Act tax mandate challenges and the extended tax implications of telework.
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Top 10 SALT Developments Of 2021: Part 1
Attorneys at Grant Thornton count down the 10 biggest state and local tax issues of 2021, including remote seller and digital advertising tax challenges, and recent net operating loss developments.
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3 Forces That Will Define Sales Tax Compliance In 2022
As we head into 2022, it's likely that many of the legal and cultural shifts we saw this year — such as increased adoption of economic nexus and marketplace facilitator laws, growth in state budgets and continuation of remote work — will define sales tax compliance in the new year, says Liz Armbruester at Avalara.
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Texas Tax Talk: Exemption Win Signals Taxpayer Opportunity
A Texas appellate court’s recent ruling in Hegar v. Texas Westmoreland Coal, holding that mineral extraction equipment qualifies for the Texas sales tax manufacturing exemption, may yield opportunities for taxpayers in other industries to push back on comptroller exemption denials, say attorneys at Baker Botts.
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Ohio Tax Talk: Property Tax Bill May Affect School Revenues
A bill pending in the Ohio Legislature proposing changes to the real property tax valuation process could lead to a decrease in school district challenges to property tax adjustments — and therefore a dip in the school districts' property tax revenues, says Yazan Ashrawi at Frost Brown.
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Kentucky Tax Talk: Why Local-Level Reform May Finally Work
Though the Kentucky General Assembly has been trying to expand local taxing authority for decades, tax reform may finally have a real chance of success in 2022, as local authorities have gained a new perspective after many struggled to maintain reliable revenue streams during the pandemic, say attorneys at Frost Brown.
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Taxpayer Considerations For La. Audit Program Participation
While the Louisiana Department of Revenue's recently announced transfer pricing managed audit program could resolve time-consuming, expensive audits for many taxpayers, companies nevertheless need to consider the attendant risks in participation, say Jaye Calhoun and William Kolarik at Kean Miller.
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Pa. Tax Talk: Tax Cap Cases Highlight Chevron Issues
The Commonwealth Court's recent decision in Alcatel-Lucent USA v. Pennsylvania — the latest in a string of cases using the Chevron test to address remedy for a tax cap for net loss carryover — underscores the subjective nature of the test and how it can be construed to reach seemingly disparate results, says Jennifer Karpchuk at Chamberlain Hrdlicka.