State & Local

Expert Analysis

• What Ohio Tax Bill Would Mean For Business Sales

  

  A pending Ohio bill would codify two situations in which selling an equity or ownership interest in a business would be considered business income, clarifying a number of ambiguous tax situations, say attorneys at Taft.

• Mich. Marijuana Bill Could Boost Tribal Economic Growth

  

  New legislation in Michigan could help Native American tribes raise revenue for government services by creating a pathway for their marijuana businesses to interact with state-licensed facilities — a cooperative approach that supports tribal sovereignty and provides a model for resolving related jurisdictional challenges, says Paul Mooney at Dykema.

• The Efficacy Of Real Estate Joint Venture Exit Strategies

  

  The pandemic has highlighted the importance of negotiating exit strategies for joint ventures, but more may not be better — parties should carefully assess which options are best suited to the particular venture, factoring in certain helpful considerations, say Kris Ferranti and Jonathan Newman at Shearman.

• NY Tribunal Ruling Instructive On Sales Taxation Of Artwork

  

  A recent ruling from the New York Tax Appeals Tribunal in a case involving purchase of a Picasso painting sheds light on two important tax-structuring issues in the art industry — the form-over-substance nature of sales tax and the proper analysis to determine whether property is purchased exclusively for resale, say Joseph Endres and Joshua Lawrence at Hodgson Russ.

• Justices Must Apply Law Evenly In Shadow Docket Rulings

  

  In recent shadow docket decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court has inconsistently applied the requirement that parties demonstrate irreparable harm to obtain injunctive relief, which is problematic for two separate but related reasons, says David Hopkins at Benesch.

• Federal Cannabis Bill Needs A Regulatory Plan To Succeed

  

  The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday, is laudable but fundamentally flawed because it lacks a robust regulatory plan that would allow for bipartisan support, says Andrew Kline at Perkins Coie.

• Ohio Tax Talk: How Small Business Relief Would Work

  

  Yazan Ashrawi and Raghav Agnihotri at Frost Brown discuss how a bill recently approved by the Ohio Senate would reduce federal income tax liability for pass-through entity owners of small businesses, and offer planning considerations for those taxpayers.

• What NJ Taxpayers Should Know About Russia Sanction Law

  

  While several other states' pension funds have moved to divest themselves of Russian financial holdings, New Jersey's new law — swiftly introduced and enacted in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine — appears to be the first legislation of its kind at the state level to limit economic development and tax incentives for private entities, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

• Kentucky Tax Talk: Inside Louisville's New Tax Regulations

  

  Businesses of all sizes should reevaluate their obligations under the Louisville Metro Revenue Commission's new regulations governing local taxes, particularly given some unexpected changes and a stricter approach to the occupational license tax, say attorneys at Frost Brown.

• Mich. Unclaimed Property Rulings Offer Hope For Auditees

  

  Two recent decisions from a Michigan circuit court, holding that commencing an unclaimed property audit does not toll the state's time limit to demand unclaimed funds, may offer property holders a glimmer of relief from burdensome, lengthy audits, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

• Pa. Tax Talk: Ambiguity Issue In High Court Qui Tam Ruling

  

  The most concerning aspect of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's recent decision in O'Donnell v. Allegheny County, finding that qui tam payments are taxable income, is the majority's steadfast assertion that there is no ambiguity in this interpretation — when the dissenting opinion proves there is, says Jennifer Karpchuk at Chamberlain Hrdlicka.

• Why I'll Miss Arguing Before Justice Breyer

  

  Carter Phillips at Sidley shares some of his fondest memories of retiring Justice Stephen Breyer both inside and out of the courtroom, and explains why he thinks the justice’s multipronged questions during U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments were everything an advocate could ask for.

• Texas Tax Talk: Comptroller Appeals May Fuel Litigation

  

  This Texas Supreme Court term has seen a very active comptroller bringing particularly aggressive arguments on appeal, such as those stretching the statutory language for tax liability, in a trend that could force taxpayers to litigate positions they thought were secure, say attorneys at Baker Botts.