State & Local
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April 01, 2024
Trump's Gag Order Expands Over 'Attacks' On Judge's Family
Donald Trump has a constitutional right to respond to alleged political attacks, but he does not have a right to attack family members of the state judge overseeing his criminal case in New York, the judge ruled late Monday, expanding the former president's gag order in his hush money case.
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April 01, 2024
Combined Reporting Could Fight Tax Avoidance, Group Says
States lose at least $10 billion annually as multinational corporations shift profits to low-tax jurisdictions, according to a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, but enacting worldwide combined reporting could help remedy the problem.
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April 01, 2024
Chamber Says Md. Digital Ad Tax Rule Violates Free Speech
Maryland's law against passing through its digital advertising tax to consumers is an unconstitutional restriction on free speech, business groups told a federal court, responding to its order for briefs on the meaning of the provision.
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April 01, 2024
Berkshire Unit Merits Neb. Deduction, State Justices Told
Nebraska's deduction for certain dividends should apply to income repatriated under the 2017 federal tax overhaul, an attorney for a Berkshire Hathaway entity told the state Supreme Court on Monday.
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April 01, 2024
Fla. High Court Says Voters Will Choose Whether To Legalize Pot
Florida voters will have the opportunity to legalize recreational marijuana at the ballot box this November, after the state Supreme Court on Monday rejected a challenge brought by the state's attorney general and ruled that the proposal didn't violate a state rule restricting ballot measures to only one subject.
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April 01, 2024
Kan. March Revenue Slightly Above Monthly Projection
Kansas' tax collections for March were $7 million above the monthly estimate, Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's office announced Monday.
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April 01, 2024
BakerHostetler Adds Partner To Tax Practice Group
BakerHostetler's Washington office has added a partner from Morris Manning and Martin LLP to join its tax practice group, Baker said in a statement Monday.
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April 01, 2024
Baker Donelson Adds EY Tax Pro To Houston Office
A former EY senior manager has joined Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC's tax group in Houston as counsel, the firm announced.
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April 01, 2024
Vt. Senate Passes Tax On Netflix, Apple TV, Other Streamers
Vermont would assess a tax on Netflix, Apple TV and other streaming services based on their gross revenues from video streaming services in the state as part of a bill passed by the state Senate.
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April 01, 2024
W.Va.'s Revenue $95M Above Estimate For March
West Virginia's general revenue collection for March came in $94.8 million above the state's estimate, the governor's office said Monday.
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April 01, 2024
Arizona Limits Multiple Local Sales Tax Audits
Arizona will allow the state's Department of Revenue to deny a local jurisdiction's request to audit a company's transaction privilege tax liability if it is operating in more than one jurisdiction, under a law signed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.
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April 01, 2024
Ore. Tax Court Upholds Nursing Home's $10.6M Valuation
The owner of an Oregon nursing home did not present enough evidence to change the $10.6 million valuation found by a local assessor, the state tax court said.
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March 29, 2024
Manhattan DA Says Trump Violated Hush Money Gag Order
Donald Trump may have already violated a New York state judge's gag order in the former president's hush money case by impugning the judge's daughter on social media, Manhattan prosecutors said, while Trump's attorneys say prosecutors are trying to improperly expand the order.
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March 29, 2024
Mass. Tax Board Won't Lower Value Of Boston House
A Boston home was correctly assessed, the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board said in a decision published Friday, finding that an analysis of nearby homes failed to show it was overvalued.
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March 29, 2024
Ark. High Court Says Dealership Owes Tax On Loaned Cars
An Arkansas car dealership that let its employees use designated cars as an employee benefit owes sales tax on the cars because the employees enjoyed the vehicles without restriction, the state Supreme Court ruled.
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March 29, 2024
Green Energy Credit Sales Spur Surge In Tax Insurance
A new way for project owners to monetize clean energy tax credits by selling them for cash has turbocharged demand for insurance policies to cover various risks tied to the transactions, which can often be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
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March 29, 2024
Baltimore Key Bridge Collapse Prompts Md. Biz Tax Leniency
Maryland will waive certain late penalties and interest for business taxpayers through May 31 to mitigate the impact of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, the state comptroller announced Friday.
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March 29, 2024
Flint Residents Can't Show Profit From Hasty Water Rate Hike
Residents challenging the city of Flint's rushed implementation of higher water and sewage rates couldn't show how the city unjustly profited from the change or whether the increased rate was unreasonable, a Michigan appellate panel said in upholding the dismissal of the residents' suit.
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March 29, 2024
Vt. Revenues Through Feb. Up $9M From Last Year
Vermont collected $9 million more in revenue from July through February compared with the same period last fiscal year, according to a monthly report by the Agency of Administration.
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March 29, 2024
Missouri House Advances Property Tax Cap Ballot Measure
Missouri voters would be asked to approve a 2% annual cap on increases to assessments of primary residences under a constitutional amendment the state House of Representatives passed.
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March 29, 2024
NM General Revenue Through Nov. Up $351M Over Forecast
New Mexico general revenue collection from July through November was $351 million higher than budget estimates, according to a report from the state's Legislative Finance Committee.
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March 29, 2024
Md. House OKs Tax Breaks For Residential Projects
Local governments in Maryland could grant property tax credits for certain hotel and residential developments that include affordable housing under legislation approved Friday by the state House of Delegates.
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March 28, 2024
Va. Gov., Critic Of Legal Pot, Vetoes Bill To Begin Sales
Glenn Youngkin, the Republican governor of Virginia, on Thursday vetoed a Legislature-approved bill that would have taxed and regulated the sale of adult-use cannabis, saying marijuana sales would pose a public health and safety risk to Virginians.
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March 28, 2024
Colo. Senate Panel OKs Rental Car Fee For Rail Funding
Colorado would impose a daily fee on vehicle rentals to raise funding for rail and transit infrastructure projects under legislation approved by a state Senate panel over protests from the rental car industry that the measure could conflict with federal law.
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March 28, 2024
Miss. House Passes Exemption For Forgiven Student Loans
Mississippi would exclude canceled or forgiven student loan debt from gross income as part of a bill unanimously passed in the state House of Representatives.
Expert Analysis
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High Court Ax Of Atty-Client Privilege Case Deepens Split
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent dismissal of In re: Grand Jury as improvidently granted maintains a three-way circuit split on the application of attorney-client privilege to multipurpose communications, although the justices have at least shown a desire to address it, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.
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Comparing NY And NJ Reverse False Claims Statutes
Michael Horn and Lilli Wofsy at Archer & Greiner examine the New York and New Jersey False Claims Acts that give private parties a right to file suits alleging failure to pay the government money, and important distinctions between these state statutes and the federal law that could protect companies facing lawsuits amid substantial incentives for private litigants.
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Ohio Tax Talk: Amnesty Or Voluntary Disclosure?
Ohio's governor recently signed legislation to allow a two-month tax amnesty if the revenue is needed, but considering Ohio's current tax surplus and the fact that many taxpayers would be precluded, those owing back taxes should consider whether voluntary disclosure remains a better option, say Raghav Agnihotri and Rachael Chamberlain at Frost Brown.
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Property In Pa. And Corporate Income In Mo.: SALT In Review
From the latest attempt to do away with Pennsylvania's property tax to an assault on Missouri's corporate income tax, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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The Forces Defining Sales Tax Policy And Compliance In 2023
In the coming year, expect to see tax policymakers grapple with the complexity of state and local tax compliance, cryptocurrency, metaverse transactions, and more, says Scott Peterson at Avalara.
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Start The Revolution Without Me: SALT In Review
From a sweeping push toward taxing the rich to a proposed tax review board in Indiana, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Atty-Client Privilege Arguments Give Justices A Moving Target
Recent oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case regarding the scope of the attorney-client privilege appeared to raise more questions about multipurpose counsel communications than they answered, as the parties presented shifting iterations of a predictable, easily applied test for evaluating the communications' purpose, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.
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States Must Align Distribution Age Rules With Secure 2.0
To prevent unintended escheatment of retirement benefits, states will need to undertake legislative efforts to amend unclaimed property standards that conflict with the Secure 2.0 Act's required minimum distribution age increases, says Michael Giovannini at Alston & Bird.
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Va. Tax Nixed, NJ Shoplifter Targeted: SALT In Review
From a tax declared unconstitutional in Virginia to a New Jersey prosecutor's attempt to include sales tax in a shoplifting charge, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Midterm Cannabis Results Remind That Progress Is Not Linear
It may appear odd that the majority of state proposals for adult-use cannabis failed in November’s midterm elections when legalization is polling at an all-time high, but history moves in fits and starts, and there are clearly still some blind spots and hidden variables affecting voter perceptions, say Whitt Steineker and Mason Kruse at Bradley Arant.
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Wash. B&O Tax Proposal Is A Step In The Right Direction
The Washington Tax Structure Work Group’s proposal to swap the state’s problematic business and occupation tax for a Texas-style margins tax is far from a perfect solution, but it has opened the door for a long-overdue conversation about B&O tax changes that would provide much-needed administrative relief, says Nikki Dobay at Greenberg Traurig.
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This Year's Top 10 Developments In State And Local Tax
Attorneys at Grant Thornton rank the 10 biggest state and local tax issues of 2022, including the adoption of state pass-through entity taxes, Maryland's digital advertising tax and American Rescue Plan Act litigation.
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What To Expect In 2023: SALT In Review
Starting with predictions for the coming year, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.