State & Local
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May 03, 2024
Colo. Senate Panel Clears Oil And Gas Fees
Colorado would create oil and gas production fees as part of a bill advanced by the Senate Finance Committee, but detractors said the fees would amount to a tax that would increase energy costs.
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May 03, 2024
Mo. Says Agent's Purchases For Exempt Entities Aren't Taxed
An agent of organizations that are exempt from Missouri taxes doesn't need to collect and remit sales tax on purchases of food or sales of meals on their behalf, the state Department of Revenue said.
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May 03, 2024
Kansas' April Revenue Beats Estimates By 8%
General revenue for Kansas in April was approximately 8% above estimates at $1.42 billion, the governor reported in a news release.
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May 03, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Skadden, Wachtell, Davis Polk
In this week's Taxation With Representation, L'Occitane International said its executive director and chair is leading an offer to buy the company's shares he doesn't already own, UMB Financial agreed to purchase Heartland Financial USA, Medline said it agreed to acquire Ecolab's global surgical solutions business and The Mosaic Co. said it agreed to sell its stake in a phosphate production joint venture.
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May 02, 2024
Calif. Bill Eyes Data Extraction Tax, Akin To Digital Ad Tax
California would levy the 7.25% state sales and use tax on large online companies with digital advertising revenue above $2.5 billion and would direct the tax revenue raised toward tax credits for local journalism outlets under a bill introduced by a key state senator.
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May 02, 2024
Fiserv Presses Fla. Appeals Court To Revive Tax Sourcing Suit
A Florida appeals court should overturn a lower court's dismissal of a tax sourcing challenge from Fiserv entities for failure to pay the contested amounts because state precedent doesn't allow the jurisdictional issue to negate the case, the companies argued.
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May 02, 2024
Mass. Property Is Agricultural, Appellate Board Says
A 14-acre property should be classified as agricultural, as the owner proved the land's main use was farming, the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board said in a ruling released Thursday.
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May 02, 2024
Wyden Pushes Intuit To Help Users Get Refunds After Error
The Senate's top tax writer told Intuit's CEO that the company needs to help taxpayers in Oregon, the senator's home state, receive the full refunds they're entitled to after a reported error in its TurboTax product caused some Oregonians to overpay their state taxes.
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May 02, 2024
NY Assembly Bill Would Increase Tax Exemption For Clothing
New York would increase its tax exemption for items of clothing to $200 per item under a bill introduced in the state Assembly.
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May 02, 2024
Iowa Accelerates Transition To Flat Tax, Cuts Rate
Iowa is accelerating its transition to a flat individual income tax rate, slightly reducing the rate and extending the targeted jobs withholding credit, among other changes, under a tax omnibus signed by the governor.
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May 02, 2024
Nixon Peabody Adds Two Community Finance Attys In DC
Nixon Peabody LLP has hired two partners, who will focus their practices on helping nonprofits and other clients understand and obtain tax credits for a range of community development projects, to its community development finance practice in Washington, D.C., the firm announced Thursday.
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May 02, 2024
Colorado To Revise, Modernize Sales And Use Tax Statutes
Colorado will update the state's sales and use tax statutes and require more coordination between local taxing jurisdictions and the state Department of Revenue under legislation signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis.
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May 02, 2024
Iowa Creates Tax Break For Products Sold To Fairs
Iowa will provide a sales and use tax exemption for tangible personal property, digital products and services sold to a county or district fair and will designate such fairs as exempt entities under a bill signed by the governor.
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May 02, 2024
Mich. General Revenue Through March Drops $307M
Michigan's general revenue fund collection from October through March was down $307 million compared with the same period last year, the State Budget Office reported.
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May 02, 2024
W.Va. Revenues $637M Over Budget Forecast
West Virginia's general fund collections from July through April were $637.4 million ahead of budget estimates, according to the state budget office.
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May 02, 2024
Mont. Revenue Through April Sinks $263M, Dept. Says
Montana general fund revenue from July through April was down $263 million from the same period last year, the state Department of Revenue said.
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May 02, 2024
Colo. House OKs MTC Method For Corp. Tax Reporting
Colorado would change its method for determining the makeup of a combined corporate group to conform with other states and Multistate Tax Commission standards under legislation approved by the state House that also expands income tax credits.
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May 02, 2024
Colo. Lawmakers OK Lodging Tax Simplification Study
Colorado would look at ways to simplify administration of its local lodging taxes under legislation approved Thursday by the state Senate.
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May 02, 2024
Former Mich. Speaker, Wife Arraigned On Embezzling Charges
A former speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives and his wife pled not guilty on Thursday to multiple financial crimes and received the judge's blessing to travel out of state to attend the Kentucky Derby, in their first court appearance since the charges were announced.
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May 01, 2024
T-Mobile Gets Tax Reimbursement Suit Tossed For Good
T-Mobile has convinced a New Jersey federal court to toss for good a suit brought by a middleman seeking to collect tax reimbursements the mobile behemoth had supposedly promised a landlord after it didn't fix the deficiencies in its suit the third go round.
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May 01, 2024
Senate Dems Reintroduce Bill To Tax And Regulate Cannabis
Senate Democrats on Wednesday reintroduced a cannabis legalization bill that would remove the drug entirely from the ambit of the Controlled Substances Act and impose a tax-and-regulate scheme akin to what is currently in place for alcohol and tobacco.
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May 01, 2024
Colo. House OKs Tax Credits For Middle-Income Housing
The Colorado House approved a pilot program Wednesday to provide a tax credit to developers of housing aimed at middle-income residents
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May 01, 2024
Mont. Tax Dept. Floats Updated Regs For Water's-Edge Filers
Montana would carry out recently enacted legislation that eliminated a requirement for a so-called water's-edge return to include income and apportionment factors from corporate affiliates incorporated in a now-defunct list of tax havens under regulatory updates proposed by the state Department of Revenue.
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May 01, 2024
RI Corp. Not Entitled To Untimely Refund, Division Rules
A corporation doing business in Rhode Island is not entitled to a refund of sales tax overpayment despite signing a statute of limitations waiver during an audit, the state Division of Taxation ruled.
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May 01, 2024
Collecting, Not Paying May Mean Penalties In MTC Program
The Multistate Tax Commission will make clear that a taxpayer that has collected but not remitted certain taxes during a grace period for liability will likely forfeit at least part of the grace period, an official said Wednesday.
Expert Analysis
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What Ariz. Ruling Means For Taxation Of Digital Services
The Arizona Supreme Court recently declined to review ADP v. Arizona Department of Revenue, letting stand a state appeals court's ruling that software as a service is a taxable rental of tangible personal property, essentially granting the department of revenue power to tax all digital services, say Karen Lowell and Pat Derdenger at Lewis Roca.
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Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence
Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes
Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.
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Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys
Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.
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The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'
The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.
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Permanence And Other Elusive Notions: SALT In Review
From a Michigan income tax that may or may not be permanent to a victory in court for online travel companies, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Newman Suspension Shows Need For Judicial Reform
The recent suspension of U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman following her alleged refusal to participate in a disability inquiry reveals the need for judicial misconduct reforms to ensure that judges step down when they can no longer serve effectively, says Aliza Shatzman at The Legal Accountability Project.
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How And Why Your Firm Should Implement Fixed-Fee Billing
Amid rising burnout in the legal industry and client efforts to curtail spending, pivoting to a fixed-fee billing model may improve client-attorney relationships and offer lawyers financial, logistical and stress relief — while still maintaining profit margins, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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How Law Firms Can Use Account-Based Marketing Strategies
Amid several evolving legal industry trends, account-based marketing can help law firms uncover additional revenue-generating opportunities with existing clients, with key considerations ranging from data analytics to relationship building, say Jennifer Ramsey at stage LLC and consultant Gina Sponzilli.
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Strategic Succession Planning At Law Firms Is Crucial
Senior partners' reluctance to retire, the rise of the nonequity partner tier and generational differences in expectations are all contributing to an increasing number of departures from BigLaw, making it imperative for firms to encourage retirement among senior ranks and provide clearer leadership pathways to junior attorneys, says Laura Leopard at Leopard Solutions.
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Potential Calamities, Greatly Exaggerated: SALT In Review
From fears of judicial upheaval to a tax break for space travel, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Maximizing Law Firm Profitability In Uncertain Times
As threats of an economic downturn loom, firms can boost profits by embracing the power of bottom-line management and creating an ecosystem where strategic financial oversight and robust timekeeping practices meet evolved client relations, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.
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Preparing Your Legal Department For Pillar 2 Compliance
Multinational entities should familiarize themselves with Pillar Two of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s BEPs 2.0 project and prepare their internal legal tracking systems for related reporting requirements that may go into effect as early as January, says Daniel Robyn at Ernst & Young.