State & Local
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September 16, 2024
Nebraska Medical Cannabis Initiatives Will Be On Nov. Ballot
Initiatives to legalize medical marijuana in Nebraska will appear on the ballot come November, despite some evidence of fraud in the signature-collecting petition process, according to state election officials.
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September 13, 2024
The 2024 Regional Powerhouses
The law firms on Law360's list of 2024 Regional Powerhouses reflected the local peculiarities of their states while often representing clients in deals and cases that captured national attention.
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September 15, 2024
California Couple Can't Claim Tax Credit For NYC Levy
A California couple wasn't eligible for an other-state tax credit for unincorporated business tax paid in New York because the tax is a local levy, paid to New York City and not the state, the California Office of Tax Appeals said.
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September 13, 2024
Treasury Proposes Rules Defining Tax-Exempt Tribal Benefits
Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service released proposed rules Friday that would define what qualifies as tribal welfare benefits exempt from taxable income.
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September 13, 2024
Wash. Biz Group Dues Weren't Deductible From Gross Income
The Better Business Bureau isn't entitled to a refund of business and occupation taxes paid to the Washington Department of Revenue in 2017, an appeals court affirmed, agreeing with the department that membership dues weren't deductible from gross income.
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September 13, 2024
IRS Extends La. Tax Deadlines For Francine Storm Victims
Victims of Hurricane Francine throughout Louisiana will have more time to file some tax returns and make estimated payments, the Internal Revenue Service announced Friday.
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September 12, 2024
AGs Ask 2nd Circ. To Revive Their SALT Cap Workaround Suit
Attorneys general from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut asked the Second Circuit to revive their challenge to an IRS rule prohibiting workarounds to the federal cap on state and local tax deductions, saying the rule was arbitrary and contrary to congressional intent.
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September 12, 2024
Wilson Sonsini Hires Tax Pro From Slaughter and May
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC has recruited a tax specialist from Slaughter and May to its office in London to boost its strengths representing U.K. and European technology and life sciences companies that are expanding in the U.S. and globally.
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September 12, 2024
Ex-Mass. State Sen. Tran Convicted Of Pandemic Aid Fraud
Former Massachusetts State Sen. Dean Tran was convicted Wednesday of fraudulently collecting pandemic unemployment benefits after he was voted out of office and of cheating on his taxes.
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September 12, 2024
Calif. OTA Denies Refund For Criminal Restitution Payments
California's Office of Tax Appeals said it is unable to refund criminal restitution payments to a couple who operated 21 Subway franchises in the southern part of the state between 2003 and 2010 and pleaded guilty to tax fraud and evasion for some of those years.
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September 12, 2024
Treasury Floats Long-Awaited Rules For Corp. Minimum Tax
Treasury and the IRS released eagerly awaited rules Thursday on the new 15% corporate alternative minimum tax on corporations with reported profits of $1 billion or more, taking a step toward implementing a key provision of President Joe Biden's signature 2022 tax and climate law.
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September 11, 2024
Top DC Real Estate News From Summer 2024
Catch up on the hottest real estate news out of Washington, D.C., this summer, including shifting office footprints and building conversion incentives.
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September 11, 2024
House Tax Panel OKs Repeal Of $600 Reporting Threshold
The House Ways and Means Committee advanced several bills Wednesday, including one that would repeal a law requiring peer-to-peer payment platforms such as Venmo and PayPal to report aggregate payments of $600 or more.
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September 11, 2024
Mass. Jury Weighs Raft Of Fraud Charges Against Ex-Pol
A Boston federal jury resumed deliberations Wednesday in a criminal case alleging a former Massachusetts state senator lied on his taxes and an application for pandemic unemployment aid, after the ex-politico testified in his own defense.
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September 11, 2024
Bipartisan House Bill Would Make Short Rail Credit Permanent
A bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives would permanently extend a tax credit for regional and short-line railroads that expired at the end of 2017, according to an announcement Wednesday.
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September 11, 2024
McCarter & English Recruits EY Tax Pro In New Jersey
McCarter & English LLP has bulked up its tax and employee benefits team in New Jersey with a longtime Ernst & Young expert at a time when the Garden State's business community is bracing for regulations on a series of corporate tax reforms.
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September 11, 2024
Latham Hires Senior Tax Pro From Travers Smith In London
Latham & Watkins LLP said on Wednesday that it has recruited a former head of tax at Travers Smith LLP for its office in London, a blow for the U.K. law firm, which has been hit by the departure of a series of partners.
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September 10, 2024
Corp.'s Stock Transfer Lacked Business Purpose, OTA Affirms
The California Office of Tax Appeals upheld the Franchise Tax Board's denial of a company's $10 million deduction for the transfer of stock to a settlement fund, saying the transaction lacked economic substance.
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September 10, 2024
Ex-Conn. Town Atty Slams Official's Defamation Suit Defense
The former attorney for Newington, Connecticut, and the town's tax assessor bickered over whether the latter's allegedly defamatory sentiments linked to now-dismissed ethics complaints were made publicly, with the lawyer insisting the statements were made to select groups of individuals and therefore weren't motivated by concern for the municipality's citizens.
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September 10, 2024
Manatt Phelps Grows Pot Practice With Special Counsel Hire
Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP on Tuesday revealed the latest expansion of its cannabis and CBD practice, saying it has hired a former Barclay Damon LLP attorney who specializes in corporate, tax and regulatory issues for clients including retail dispensary licensees, cultivators and multistate operators.
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September 10, 2024
House Panel To Consider Axing $600 Payment Reporting Law
The House Ways and Means Committee is set to consider legislation Wednesday that would repeal a law requiring peer-to-peer payment platforms such as Venmo and PayPal to report aggregate payments of $600 or more, among other bills.
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September 10, 2024
IRS Extends Tax Deadlines For NY, Conn. Storm Victims
Victims of severe storms and flooding in New York and Connecticut will have more time to file some tax returns and make estimated payments, the Internal Revenue Service announced Tuesday.
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September 09, 2024
Tax Panels Face Personnel Changes Ahead Of TCJA Debate
The House and Senate tax-writing committees are both set to lose veteran lawmakers in the next Congress, changing the dynamic on the panels as they gear up for a major fight next year over the fate of the expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
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September 09, 2024
Missouri County Urges Appeals Court To Uphold Cannabis Tax
Missouri's constitution provides that local governments may impose an additional retail sales tax on marijuana, and a dispensary's argument that a county may not do so because it sometimes does not qualify as a local government should be rejected, a county told an appeals court.
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September 09, 2024
Miss. Biz's Transactions Tax Exempt, State Justices Told
A Mississippi business that operates seasonally selling Christmas trees and fireworks told the state Supreme Court that its transactions were tax-exempt yard sales and a lower court erred in ruling that it was subject to the 7% sales tax.
Expert Analysis
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Consider 2 Alternative Exit Plans In RE Distress Scenarios
In the face of an impending wave of foreclosures, lenders and borrowers alike should consider two exit strategies — deed-in-lieu of foreclosure and consent foreclosure — that can mitigate potential costs and diminution in property value that could be incurred during a lengthy proceeding, say attorneys at BCLP.
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SC's Courts Have It Wrong On Amazon Marketplace Sales Tax
The South Carolina Supreme Court should step in and correct the misguided change in tax law effectuated by lower court rulings that found Amazon owes state sales tax for marketplace sales made prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Wayfair v. South Dakota decision in 2018, says Hayes Holderness at the University of Richmond.
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Constitutional Shenanigans And Other Sports: SALT In Review
From a challenge to New York's end run on a federal law to voters' rejection of a sales tax that would aid Kansas City's major league teams, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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This Earth Day, Consider How Your Firm Can Go Greener
As Earth Day approaches, law firms and attorneys should consider adopting more sustainable practices to reduce their carbon footprint — from minimizing single-use plastics to purchasing carbon offsets for air travel — which ultimately can also reduce costs for clients, say M’Lynn Phillips and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.
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Weisselberg's Perjury At Trial Spotlights Atty Ethics Issues
Former Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg’s recent guilty plea for perjury in the New York attorney general's civil fraud trial should serve as a reminder to attorneys of their ethical duties when they know a client has lied or plans to lie in court, and the potential penalties for not fulfilling those obligations, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease
This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.
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Why Supreme Court Should Allow Repatriation Tax To Stand
If the U.S. Supreme Court doesn't reject the taxpayers' misguided claims in Moore v. U.S. that the mandatory repatriation tax is unconstitutional, it could wreak havoc on our system of taxation and result in a catastrophic loss of revenue for the government, say Christina Mason and Theresa Balducci at Herrick Feinstein.
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For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill
A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.
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Trump's NY Civil Fraud Trial Spotlights Long-Criticized Law
A New York court’s recent decision holding former President Donald Trump liable for fraud brought old criticisms of the state law used against him back into the limelight — including its strikingly broad scope and its major departures from the traditional elements of common law fraud, say Mark Kelley and Lois Ahn at MoloLamken.
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Speaking Of Ideas Hard To Swallow: SALT In Review
From a Pennsylvania bill that would force corporate tax disclosure to a proposed candy tax in California, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea
A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.
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4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best
As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.
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Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs
Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.