State & Local

Expert Analysis

• Justices' MoneyGram Opinion Could Spur State Legislation

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision that federal law governs the escheatment of over $250 million in unclaimed MoneyGram checks provides clarity for some issuers, but aspects of related common law remain uncertain and states may take the opportunity to pass multistate escheatment legislation, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

• Justices Leave Questions Open On Dual-Purpose Atty Advice

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent dismissal of In re: Grand Jury on grounds that certiorari was improvidently granted leaves unresolved a circuit split over the proper test for deciding when attorney-client privilege protects a lawyer's advice that has multiple purposes, say Susan Combs and Richard Kiely at Holland & Hart.

• Biz Purchases In Nebraska, Lobsters In Maine: SALT In Review

  

  From a proposed tax exemption on business purchases in Nebraska to an attempt to punish lobster boycotts in Maine, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.