State & Local
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July 11, 2024
La. Tax Chief Urges Quick Rewrite Of Constitution's Tax Rules
Louisiana's top tax official pushed lawmakers Thursday to propose a series of changes to the state constitution's tax rules next month, calling it paramount for the proposal to go before voters on the November ballot before next year's legislative session.
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July 11, 2024
Accounting Firm Contests Blame For Client's $2M Tax Bill
An accounting firm maintains it had no duty to inform an online flower bulb retailer about a major change in tax law stemming from the U.S. Supreme Court's 2018 Wayfair decision, telling the North Carolina Business Court that advising on such topics wasn't within the scope of its duties.
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July 11, 2024
Pa. Lawmakers OK Pittsburgh Homeowner Tax Break Program
Pennsylvania would authorize Pittsburgh to adopt a property tax relief program that would let longtime homeowners claim tax breaks related to rising real estate taxes under a bill that narrowly passed the state House and next goes to Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro.
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July 11, 2024
Mo. To Offer Tax Credits For Investments In Rural Areas
Missouri will allow the state Department of Economic Development to offer tax credits for capital investments in certain rural areas as part of a bill signed by the governor Thursday.
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July 11, 2024
Pa. Court Nixes School Board's Early Objections In Tax Fight
The Pennsylvania Department of Education and state tax board were the proper parties to be named in a group's challenge to the uniformity of a county's tax system, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled Thursday, rejecting objections from the department and board.
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July 11, 2024
'Bridgegate' Defense Offers Road Map For NJ RICO Case
Counsel for the powerful New Jersey mogul and Democratic operatives facing explosive racketeering charges are likely to justify their actions as just business, experts told Law360, describing defense tactics similar to the ones that absolved defendants in "Bridgegate," New Jersey's most notorious politics-fueled crime in recent history.
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July 11, 2024
Mich. Asks Appeals Court To Rethink Nationwide's Tax Win
Michigan insurance companies that are part of Nationwide are required to file taxes as individual entities and not as a unitary group, Michigan's tax department said, asking the state Court of Appeals to reconsider its opinion in the case.
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July 11, 2024
Apple Challenges $14.8M Fla. Tax Bill In Sourcing Dispute
Apple asked a Florida state court to find that the state Department of Revenue incorrectly sourced revenue from sales of digital services and licensing agreements to in-state customers instead of out-of-state locations where the company performed its work, according to a complaint Law360 obtained Thursday.
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July 11, 2024
Minn. Ends Fiscal Year $421M Ahead Of Revenue Estimates
Minnesota's total net revenue for the fiscal year was $421 million higher than forecast, according to the state Department of Management and Budget.
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July 11, 2024
Ohio Revenue Trails Estimates By $928M In Fiscal 2024
Ohio's general revenue in the 2024 fiscal year was $928 million lower than estimates, according to the state Office of Budget and Management.
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July 11, 2024
Ohio Justices To Hear Arguments In Aramark Tax Dispute
Hospitality services provider Aramark will argue its appeal of a denied tax break for reimbursements received from clients before the Ohio Supreme Court and not before a master commissioner, the court said Thursday.
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July 10, 2024
NJ Panel Says Tax Amendment Challenge Had No Real Claim
A New Jersey state appeals court on Wednesday tossed a challenge to an amendment blocking certain appeals from being litigated in the state's tax court, reasoning that parties can still fight tax matters in trial court.
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July 10, 2024
Pa. House OKs EV Fee, End Of Tax On Residential Charging
Pennsylvania would impose an annual fee on electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and eliminate an alternative fuels tax on electricity for charging done at private residences under a bill the state House of Representatives passed Wednesday.
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July 10, 2024
MGM's Suit Against Mich. Tax For Ill. Riverboat Sale Tossed
A Michigan subsidiary of MGM failed a requirement to request an alternative apportionment method before going to court in its challenge of a corporate income tax assessed on gains from its sale of an interest in a riverboat casino, the state Court of Claims ruled.
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July 10, 2024
NJ OKs Relaxing Worker Location Rules For Tax Credits
New Jersey made it easier for businesses with remote employees to qualify for some of the state's tax breaks and grant programs by loosening the state's employee location requirement under a bill signed by Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday.
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July 10, 2024
A&E Overcomes NYC's Rejection Of Debt Deductions
A&E Television Networks may claim a New York City corporate tax deduction for certain debt expenses, a city administrative law judge said in a determination released Wednesday, saying deductions allowed federally are also allowed against the city tax.
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July 10, 2024
NJ Expands Film Tax Credit To More Digital Productions
New Jersey expanded its film tax credit program's definition of digital media content to include other forms of digital content under a bill signed Wednesday by Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.
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July 10, 2024
Ohio Board Boosts Value Of Wendy's Property To $2.1M
An Ohio city and school board proved that a property housing a newly constructed Wendy's restaurant was undervalued based on comparable properties in the area and that its value should be increased to $2.1 million, the state's Board of Tax Appeals ruled.
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July 10, 2024
Fla. Net Revenue Through May Beats Estimates By $1B
Florida's net revenue collection from July 2023 through May was $1.06 billion higher than estimates, according to the state Office of Economic and Demographic Research.
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July 10, 2024
Calif. Ends Fiscal Year With Revenue $3B Over Estimates
California's general fund revenue in the 2024 fiscal year was $3 billion higher than estimated, the California state controller said Wednesday.
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July 09, 2024
NY Judge In Trump Case OKs Narrow Subpoena For Atty
An attorney who told reporters he held an impromptu hallway conversation with a New York state judge in the lead-up to February's $464.6 million civil fraud judgment against Donald Trump must turn over any communications he had with the court regarding the underlying action, according to a Tuesday ruling.
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July 09, 2024
Calif. Health Players Back Managed Care Tax Amid Uncertainty
A ballot measure backed by some of the biggest healthcare players in California is designed to protect billions of dollars in revenue for the state's Medicaid program. Its impact may hinge on persuading more doctors to serve low-income patients.
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July 09, 2024
Mont. Floats Regs To Implement Income Tax Changes
Montana would implement legislation enacted in 2021 that made substantive changes to the state's individual income tax under regulatory updates proposed by the state Department of Revenue.
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July 09, 2024
Mo. Exempts Streaming, Satellite Cos. From Local Fees
Missouri will exempt streaming and satellite TV companies from local franchise fees as part of two bills signed into law by the governor Tuesday, despite cities in the state banding together to seek such fees from Netflix, Hulu, DirecTV and others in class actions.
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July 09, 2024
Ohio Justice Criticizes Dialysis Co.'s Tax Apportionment Claim
An Ohio Supreme Court justice expressed deep skepticism Tuesday about a dialysis company's arguments that a portion of its receipts from medical services that it provided to Ohio patients should be sourced to other states.
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.