Top State & Local Tax Cases Of 2025
From a Colorado appellate court upholding a tax on Netflix subscriptions to Pennsylvania's high court finding the Pittsburgh fee on nonresident pro athletes unconstitutional, 2025 was a busy year for state and local tax cases. Here, Law360 looks at the most influential cases of 2025 and their impact going into the new year.
Disney, Hulu Lose Appeal Over Calif. Streaming Tax
Hulu and two other Disney subsidiaries that provide streaming services must pay a California city's video services tax, a state appeals court panel ruled, upholding a trial court.
HMRC Wins Burden Of Proof Query In £54M Tax Fraud Case
A London appeals court ruled Thursday that HM Revenue & Customs doesn't bear the burden of proof in its tax liability claim against a British businessman it alleges used a company to commit alcohol smuggling and tax evasion of over £54 million ($72.2 million), plus penalties.
Top State & Local Tax Cases Of 2025
From a Colorado appellate court upholding a tax on Netflix subscriptions to Pennsylvania's high court finding the Pittsburgh fee on nonresident pro athletes unconstitutional, 2025 was a busy year for state and local tax cases. Here, Law360 looks at the most influential cases of 2025 and their impact going into the new year.
Disney, Hulu Lose Appeal Over Calif. Streaming Tax
Hulu and two other Disney subsidiaries that provide streaming services must pay a California city's video services tax, a state appeals court panel ruled, upholding a trial court.
HMRC Wins Burden Of Proof Query In £54M Tax Fraud Case
A London appeals court ruled Thursday that HM Revenue & Customs doesn't bear the burden of proof in its tax liability claim against a British businessman it alleges used a company to commit alcohol smuggling and tax evasion of over £54 million ($72.2 million), plus penalties.
Federal More
The Internal Revenue Service released guidance Friday easing the carbon capture tax credit's environmental reporting requirements, taking effect by the end of the year, for energy systems that permanently secu... (more story)
As more organizations eliminate their in-house legal departments in favor of outsourcing legal work, fractional general counsel roles offer practitioners an engaging and flexible way to practice at a high leve... (more story)
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Trump Media and Technology Group merges with fusion power company TAE Technologies, pharmaceutical company Cencora boosts its stake in cancer care company OneOncolo... (more story)
Polsinelli PC is expanding its business team, bringing in a tax pro from Glaser Weil as a shareholder in its Los Angeles office.
Several groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council and the city of San Francisco, asked a D.C. federal court Thursday to block the Internal Revenue Service from instituting new tax credit rules th... (more story)
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s recently updated model tax convention — a recalibration of international tax principles in response to an increasingly mobile workforce — should prom... (more story)
A former Illinois lawmaker cannot change her sentence despite attempts to comply with her tax reporting obligations after she was charged with evading them, the Seventh Circuit ruled Thursday, rejecting her ar... (more story)
State & Local More
Fla. High Court Says $5B Bond Deal Can't Be Set Aside
Florida's Supreme Court agreed Thursday that counties and tax collectors could not reopen a bond validation judgment issuing $5 billion in bonds for renewable energy and hurricane mitigation projects, ruling t... (more story)
Hilton's $70M Tax Value Cut Appealed To Minn. Supreme Court
Drops in the tax valuations of a Hilton hotel and convention center in Minneapolis, including a $70 million cut during one year, were wrongly ordered by the Minnesota Tax Court, the local assessor said, urging... (more story)
Sunoco Tells NY Panel Oil Sales Warrant $2.6M Tax Refund
A Sunoco entity asked a New York state appeals court to rule that it can include oil sales to third parties in its corporate franchise tax calculations, arguing that a tribunal incorrectly denied a $2.6 millio... (more story)
Former Foley & Lardner Tax Pro Launches NJ Boutique
Tax lawyer Jeremy Abrams announced Thursday that he has left Foley & Lardner LLP to form his own boutique, New Jersey-based Abrams Tax Law LLC, focused on state and local tax matters across the country.
Trump Orders Loosening Of Federal Restrictions On Marijuana
President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that his administration would instruct federal agencies to loosen restrictions on cannabis via executive order, a historic acknowledgment from the executive branch ... (more story)
Colo. Board Stalls High-Earner Tax Boost Plan
A proposed ballot measure to replace Colorado's flat income tax with graduated rates, increasing taxes on high earners, was set back Wednesday by a state panel that found in a rehearing that the initiative wro... (more story)
LSU Districts' Taxes Challenged For Not Getting Voter OK
A former Louisiana councilperson filed a suit against two economic improvement districts associated with Louisiana State University on Wednesday, saying the jurisdictions failed to get taxpayer approval before... (more story)
Amazon Charged Too Much Sales Tax, Tenn. Consumer Claims
Amazon has been hit with a proposed class action in Washington state court by a Tennessee customer who claims the e-commerce giant collected excessive sales tax on his purchases and then refused to refund him,... (more story)
Mich. Appeals Court Rejects Medical Pot Co.'s Tax Deduction
A Michigan medical cannabis provisioning center cannot claim a corporate income tax deduction for business expenses, the Michigan Court of Appeals found, saying the law provides that tax break only to recreati... (more story)
Florida's Supreme Court agreed Thursday that counties and tax collectors could not reopen a bond validation judgment issuing $5 billion in bonds for renewable energy and hurricane mitigation projects, ruling t... (more story)
Drops in the tax valuations of a Hilton hotel and convention center in Minneapolis, including a $70 million cut during one year, were wrongly ordered by the Minnesota Tax Court, the local assessor said, urging... (more story)
A Sunoco entity asked a New York state appeals court to rule that it can include oil sales to third parties in its corporate franchise tax calculations, arguing that a tribunal incorrectly denied a $2.6 millio... (more story)
Tax lawyer Jeremy Abrams announced Thursday that he has left Foley & Lardner LLP to form his own boutique, New Jersey-based Abrams Tax Law LLC, focused on state and local tax matters across the country.
President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that his administration would instruct federal agencies to loosen restrictions on cannabis via executive order, a historic acknowledgment from the executive branch ... (more story)
A proposed ballot measure to replace Colorado's flat income tax with graduated rates, increasing taxes on high earners, was set back Wednesday by a state panel that found in a rehearing that the initiative wro... (more story)
A former Louisiana councilperson filed a suit against two economic improvement districts associated with Louisiana State University on Wednesday, saying the jurisdictions failed to get taxpayer approval before... (more story)
Amazon has been hit with a proposed class action in Washington state court by a Tennessee customer who claims the e-commerce giant collected excessive sales tax on his purchases and then refused to refund him,... (more story)
A Michigan medical cannabis provisioning center cannot claim a corporate income tax deduction for business expenses, the Michigan Court of Appeals found, saying the law provides that tax break only to recreati... (more story)
International More
Czech Republic, Estonia Shift To Backing Min. Tax Deal For US
The Czech Republic and Estonia have shifted to supporting the proposed U.S. exemption from the global minimum tax's international provisions at the global tax policymaking body hosted by the Organization for E... (more story)
Denmark Files To Appeal £1.4B Cum-Ex Fraud Case Defeat
Denmark has launched its effort to revive its £1.4 billion ($1.8 billion) case over a tax fraud allegedly orchestrated by convicted hedge fund trader Sanjay Shah, according to court filings seen by Law360 Thursday.
Court Remands Commerce Ruling On Vietnam Steel Duties
The U.S. Department of Commerce did not properly substantiate its 2023 findings that imports of Vietnamese steel products were flouting duties imposed on South Korea, India and China, the U.S. Court of Interna... (more story)
Ex-Biden Tax Counsel To Chair Willkie Tax Resolution Team
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP has hired a former senior tax counsel who worked in two Democratic presidential administrations to come on board as chair of the firm's tax resolution practice group, according to ... (more story)
UK Supreme Court Tosses Hotel's Atty Fee VAT Appeal
A hotel company can't reclaim value-added tax paid on fees to lawyers and accountants as part of selling a subsidiary to finance the opening of a new hotel, the U.K. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
Fired Top Antitrust Official Warns Of 'Politicization'
The former No. 2 at the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division until he was terminated this year testified Tuesday about the "politicization" of antitrust enforcement.
A Uniform Federal Rule Would Curb Gen AI Missteps In Court
To address the patchwork of courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence, curbing abuses and relieving the burden on judges, the federal judiciary should consider amending its civil procedure ... (more story)
The Czech Republic and Estonia have shifted to supporting the proposed U.S. exemption from the global minimum tax's international provisions at the global tax policymaking body hosted by the Organization for E... (more story)
Denmark has launched its effort to revive its £1.4 billion ($1.8 billion) case over a tax fraud allegedly orchestrated by convicted hedge fund trader Sanjay Shah, according to court filings seen by Law360 Thursday.
The U.S. Department of Commerce did not properly substantiate its 2023 findings that imports of Vietnamese steel products were flouting duties imposed on South Korea, India and China, the U.S. Court of Interna... (more story)
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP has hired a former senior tax counsel who worked in two Democratic presidential administrations to come on board as chair of the firm's tax resolution practice group, according to ... (more story)
A hotel company can't reclaim value-added tax paid on fees to lawyers and accountants as part of selling a subsidiary to finance the opening of a new hotel, the U.K. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
The former No. 2 at the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division until he was terminated this year testified Tuesday about the "politicization" of antitrust enforcement.
To address the patchwork of courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence, curbing abuses and relieving the burden on judges, the federal judiciary should consider amending its civil procedure ... (more story)