State & Local
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June 13, 2025
NY Tax Doesn't Apply To Co.'s Concrete Services
New York sales and use tax doesn't apply to a concrete pumping truck company's pumping services because the pumping qualifies as capital improvements, which is exempt from tax, the state tax department said.
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June 13, 2025
La. Lawmakers OK Inventory Tax Exemption Ballot Measure
Louisiana voters would decide whether to amend the state constitution to allow parishes to exempt business inventory from property taxation under legislation passed by lawmakers.
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June 13, 2025
NY Says Biz's Marketplace Facilitator Collects Tax On Sales
An out-of-state business that stores goods in New York doesn't need to register for sales tax if the marketplace facilitator it uses already collects the tax and it doesn't make other sales in the state, the state tax department said.
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June 13, 2025
NY Contractor Told To Collect Sales Tax On Charges
New York's sales and use tax should be collected by a contractor on labor charges when its customers fail to provide a tax-exemption certificate for capital improvements, the state tax department ruled.
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June 13, 2025
NY Co.'s Hotel Cleaning Services Don't Trigger Sales Tax
A New York-based company's receipts for hotel cleaning services aren't subject to New York state and local sales and use taxes because the customer's own employees performed the cleaning services, the state tax department said in an advisory opinion.
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June 13, 2025
Tax Credit Sales Would Be Difficult To Insure Under House Bill
House Republicans' sweeping budget bill proposes to promptly scale back the clean energy tax incentives established by the 2022 climate law, a move that would make it difficult for tax insurers to back project development deals that want to sell their tax credits for cash.
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June 13, 2025
Conn. Net Revenue Through May Up $1.16B From Last Year
Connecticut net revenues from July through May outpaced collections made during the same period last fiscal year by $1.16 billion, according to the state Department of Revenue.
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June 13, 2025
La. Severance Tax Cut Sent To Governor For Approval
Louisiana would nearly halve its severance tax rate to 6.5% on oil produced from new wells under a bill sent to the governor.
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June 13, 2025
Taxation With Representation: Debevoise, Latham, Paul Weiss
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Brown & Brown Inc. buys Accession Risk Management Group Inc., Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. acquires Dana Inc.'s off-highway unit, Qualcomm Inc. buys Alphawave IP, and Warner Bros. Discovery announced it will split into two publicly traded companies.
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June 13, 2025
Minnesota Revenue Tops Forecast By $23M In May
Minnesota's general fund revenue collection in May outpaced forecasts by $23 million, according to a report by the state Office of Management and Budget.
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June 13, 2025
Fed. Tax Bill Primed To Reignite Conformity Talks In States
The federal budget reconciliation bill's tax proposals, including extensions of certain elements of President Donald Trump's signature 2017 tax plan, are primed to rekindle debates among state lawmakers over how states should conform to the federal code.
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June 12, 2025
GOP Tax Bill Penalizes Professionals, CPA Group Says
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by House Republicans penalizes accountants and other professionals and would unfairly eliminate a state and local tax deduction for certain pass-through entities, a national group of certified public accountants said Thursday.
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June 12, 2025
Md. Court OKs Second Tax Notice, Drops Home Value
A second residential property assessment notice by the city of Baltimore boosting a valuation by more than $300,000 over its initial assessment is valid, but the assessment was too high, the Maryland Tax Court said in an order released Thursday.
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June 12, 2025
NY Says No Sales Tax Due On Vacation Property Rent
New York doesn't subject a person's income from their vacation property to sales tax, the state tax department said in an advisory opinion.
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June 12, 2025
NH High Court Upholds Towns Keeping Excess Tax Revenue
The right of New Hampshire communities to retain excess statewide education property taxes for other purposes doesn't violate the state constitution's uniformity clause, the state Supreme Court ruled, partially reversing a trial court.
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June 12, 2025
Legal Noncitizens OK For Domicile Tax Break, SC Judge Says
A legally present couple from India showed intent to remain domiciled in their South Carolina home and therefore qualify for the property tax treatment granted for owner-occupied residences, an administrative judge ruled.
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June 12, 2025
Philly Lowers Business Income Tax Rates In Approved Budget
Philadelphia will lower the city's business income and receipts tax rate, eventually phasing out the gross receipts portion of the tax and lowering the net income portion under a budget approved by the City Council, the mayor announced Thursday.
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June 12, 2025
Ohio Senate Passes Budget Plan With Flat Tax
Ohio would levy a flat tax on income, doing away with its progressive tax regime, and increase the homestead deduction as part of a $60 billion budget plan passed by the state Senate.
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June 12, 2025
La. Lawmakers OK Inventory Tax Credit Changes For S Corps
Louisiana only would allow inventory tax credits for S corporations to be taken against personal income tax liabilities of shareholders in the pass-through entities under a bill approved by the state Legislature.
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June 12, 2025
NY Dept. Says Tax Applies To Auction Service's Commission
New York sales tax applies to a buyer's premium, otherwise known as a commission, on the sale of property at auction because the commission is part of the sales price, the state Department of Taxation said.
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June 12, 2025
Wis. Children's Hospital Denied Exemption For Hospital Tower
The Children's Hospital of Wisconsin isn't eligible for a property tax exemption for a tower built in its medical complex, as it was unused during the tax year, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled.
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June 12, 2025
NY Says Tax Applies To Asbestos Gear Used In State Facilities
A contractor's rental of equipment for asbestos abatement and selective interior demolition in facilities owned by New York state is subject to sales tax, the state tax department said.
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June 12, 2025
Oklahoma General Fund Revenues Beat Forecasts By $98M
Oklahoma's general fund revenue collection from July through May outpaced forecasts by $98 million, according to the state Office of Management and Enterprise Services.
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June 12, 2025
Ohio Revenues Beat Estimates By $1.3B Through May
Ohio's general revenue fund receipts for July through May outpaced forecasts by $1.34 billion, according to a report by the state Office of Budget Management.
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June 12, 2025
Maine Gives 2 Years To Fight Tax Debt Biz Property Takings
Maine won't allow challenges to governmental takings of commercial real estate for nonpayment of property taxes after a statutory two-year period ends, under a bill signed by the governor.
Expert Analysis
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How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market
Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.
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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.