State & Local

Expert Analysis

• What AML Bill Could Mean For Firms, Funds And FinCEN

  

  If passed, an amendment within Congress’ annual defense bill would expand the list of institutions subject to anti-money laundering regulations, from law firms to investment funds, creating potential rulemaking and enforcement challenges for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

• Kentucky Tax Talk: What's Next For Bourbon Barrel Revenue

  

  By creating the Bourbon Barrel Taxation Task Force to help Kentucky regain a competitive edge in the state’s signature industry, the General Assembly has recognized the need to lessen the burden on distillers without causing detrimental harm to local revenue, say attorneys at Frost Brown.

• Tax Credits For Empty Garages In Calif.: SALT In Review

  

  RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news, starting with California's planned tax credits for households without cars.

• CORRECTED: New Tax Credits For Renewables Should Offer Investors Relief

  

  The Inflation Reduction Act's changes to tax credits for renewable energy projects should finally liberate tax equity investors from the restraints of the complex and onerous federal anti-abuse regime, says Kay Hobart at Parker Poe. Correction: Because of an editing error, a previous version of this article incorrectly characterized tax enforcement regimes in North Carolina and other states. This error has been corrected.

• P.L. 86-272 And Tax Cuts Here And There: SALT In Review

  

  From California's interpretation of P.L. 86-272 to calls for tax cuts in Idaho and North Dakota, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.

• Unpacking The New Stock Buyback Tax And Its Exceptions

  

  Xenia Garofalo and Kyle Colonna at Eversheds Sutherland discuss provisions of the recently enacted tax on corporate stock repurchases, how its exceptions may be applied and what companies should consider when evaluating the cost of new or existing programs.

• Mass. Retroactivity, Still, And Calif. Gases: SALT In Review

  

  From Massachusetts' continuing pursuit of a retroactive tax to a California proposal to fight greenhouse gas emissions at the expense of the wealthy, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.

• Ohio Tax Talk: Telework Case Shows Tax Grounds Eroding

  

  The Ohio Supreme Court case Schaad v. Alder, which considers a city's right to temporarily tax remote workers during the pandemic, highlights how sustained increases in telework may undermine the rationale allowing municipalities to tax employee income regardless of their residence, say Yazan Ashrawi and Raghav Agnihotri at Frost Brown.

• Digital Ads In NM And Farms In NJ: SALT In Review

  

  From New Mexico's proposed rules on digital advertising to New Jersey's move toward relief for farmers, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.

• Senate Cannabis Bill May Give Some Cos. A Competitive Edge

  

  Though the recently introduced Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act is unlikely to pass, it provides a bellwether for federal legalization, with a robust regulatory framework that would offer large food and beverage companies a structural advantage and poise multistate cannabis operators for further growth, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

• NY's Out-Of-State Play And Ala.'s Add-Back: SALT In Review

  

  From New York state's move toward taxing out-of-state entities' partnership sales to Pfizer's victory against Alabama's add-back rule, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.

• Lessons For Federal Lawmakers As Calif. Alters Cannabis Tax

  

  California recently eliminated a cultivation tax that had for years burdened the state’s licensed cannabis market, providing important lessons for federal lawmakers on cumbersome regulations and unduly high taxes as they debate legalization, says Raza Lawrence at Zuber Lawler.

• Texas Tax Talk: Ruling May Erode Pro-Taxpayer Presumption

  

  Following the recent Texas Supreme Court opinion in Hegar v. Health Care Service, the state comptroller may try to limit the utility of a long-standing presumption that ambiguous tax statutes must be construed strictly against the taxing authority and liberally for the taxpayer, say attorneys at Baker Botts.