State & Local
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September 26, 2024
Calif. Revives Tax Breaks For Manufacture Property
California reinstated a capital investment incentive program that allows local governments to offer partial property tax abatements for qualified manufacturing facilities and expanded the program to include qualifying projects that make lower initial investments under a bill signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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September 26, 2024
Pa. Justices Reject New Tax Hearing For Charter School
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court erred in sending a charter school's retroactive property tax appeal back to a county board, because the charter school had failed to exhaust statutory remedies, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
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September 26, 2024
NJ Atty Rips AG For 'Grossly Distorted' Power Broker Case
A New Jersey attorney charged in the state's sweeping indictment against power broker George E. Norcross III accused the Attorney General's Office on Thursday of "attempting to criminalize the routine practice of law" with its charges against him.
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September 26, 2024
Ind. Tax Dept. Abates Beverage Co.'s Late Filing Penalty
A penalty assessed to an Indiana beverage company for a late corporate income tax filing will be abated, as the delay wasn't due to willful neglect, the Department of State Revenue said in a letter of finding.
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September 26, 2024
Ind. Couple Wrongly Denied Credit For Ky. Local Income Tax
An Indiana couple was wrongly denied an income tax credit for local income tax paid by one spouse while working in Kentucky, but the couple will continue to owe additional tax, the Indiana Department of State Revenue said in a letter of finding.
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September 26, 2024
NY Appeals Court Casts Doubt On $489M Trump Judgment
Judges on a New York state appeals court expressed skepticism Thursday of a $489 million civil fraud judgment against Donald Trump, his sons, companies and their executives, raising the prospect that the fine awarded to the attorney general could be reduced or vacated.
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September 26, 2024
Ind. S Corp. Not Subject To County Income Tax, Dept. Says
An Indiana S corporation was wrongly assessed county income tax on distributions to its lone, out-of-state shareholder, the Department of State Revenue said, because that shareholder was not employed in the state.
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September 25, 2024
Pa. Panel Says Misspellings Don't Sink Service Of Tax Notice
The misspelling of a landowner's name on a notice of an impending tax sale did not prevent the owner from understanding their property would be auctioned off to cover unpaid taxes, a Pennsylvania appellate court ruled Wednesday.
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September 25, 2024
Remote Sales Tax Compliance Burdens Small Biz, Senate Told
The 2018 Wayfair decision has burdened small businesses with significant compliance costs to collect and remit taxes in thousands of jurisdictions across the U.S., state tax experts told a U.S. Senate subcommittee Wednesday.
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September 25, 2024
IBM Urges Justices To Review NY Tax On Foreign Royalties
New York's system for taxing royalty payments would be unconstitutional if every other jurisdiction adopted it, violating an internal consistency test reaffirmed by a 2015 precedent, IBM told the U.S. Supreme Court in asking it to review and overturn New York's high court ruling that allowed the tax regime.
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September 25, 2024
Colo. Panel OKs Expanding Sales Tax License Search Engine
Colorado would expand its online search function for sales and use tax licenses and exemption certificates to allow searches by a retailer's name and federal identification number under draft legislation approved by a legislative task force Wednesday.
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September 25, 2024
Colo. Sales Tax Panel OKs More Confidentiality In Audits
Third-party sales tax audits performed on behalf of local jurisdictions in Colorado would face increased confidentiality standards under draft legislation approved Wednesday by a legislative panel.
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September 25, 2024
Dept. Asks Mich. Justices To Tackle Unitary Tax Case
The Michigan Supreme Court should review an appellate court decision that found that insurance companies that are part of Nationwide should file their taxes as a unitary group because the case poses a significant public impact, the state Treasury Department said.
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September 25, 2024
Texas Court Denies District's Attempt To Boost Valuations
A Texas trial court didn't err in throwing out a counterclaim brought by a local appraisal district to increase the assessed values of two multifamily properties, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday.
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September 25, 2024
NJ Bill Would Hike Threshold For Tax On Property Transfers
New Jersey would raise the threshold for the imposition of a controlling interest transfer tax or an additional fee on transfers of various kinds of real property under a bill introduced in the state Assembly.
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September 25, 2024
Wyden Calls On 2025 Tax Bill To Include Partnership Reform
Lawmakers should consider next year how to revise partnership tax laws to better collect on large businesses' income without harming smaller entities as Congress debates over how to address expiring tax provisions, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden said Wednesday.
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September 25, 2024
Puerto Rico Seeking Input On Implementing Global Min. Tax
Puerto Rico's Department of the Treasury is looking for public comments regarding possible implementation of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's 15% global corporate minimum tax on large multinational entities.
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September 24, 2024
Mo. Cannabis Shop Asks Appeals Court To Scrap County Tax
A Missouri appeals court should overturn a lower court's ruling that the state's constitution allowed a county to impose a cannabis tax on businesses that are also charged city taxes within its boundaries, a cannabis company told the court.
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September 24, 2024
Microsoft Fights Mich. Tax Treatment Of Cost Share Payments
Microsoft urged the Michigan Tax Tribunal to find that cost sharing agreement receipts from affiliates constituted licenses of intellectual property that should be included in its apportionment formula, arguing that the state's tax agency incorrectly followed federal transfer pricing rules in excluding the payments from its tax calculations.
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September 24, 2024
Mont. Regs Carry Out Individual Income Tax Changes
Montana has adopted regulations to implement legislation enacted in 2021 and 2023 that made substantive changes to the state's individual income tax under regulatory updates adopted by the state Department of Revenue, according to a notice published in the state register.
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September 24, 2024
Ohio Dept. Floats Sales Tax Regs To Define Transient Guests
Ohio would define "sleeping accommodation" and "transient guests" to carry out provisions of state sales tax law governing transactions between hotels and guests as part of regulations proposed by the state Department of Taxation.
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September 24, 2024
NY Marina Owes Sales Tax On Floating Docks Purchases
A New York marina owes sales tax on its purchases of floating docks because the docks do not qualify as the installation of a capital improvement, the state Department of Taxation and Finance said in a ruling released Tuesday.
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September 24, 2024
Propane Sales To NY Home Not Taxed, Tax Dept. Says
A New York homeowner who orders propane to heat a detached garage isn't required to pay state sales tax on the transaction, the state Department of Taxation and Finance said in an opinion released Tuesday.
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September 24, 2024
Calif. Authorizes Sending Sales Tax Notices Electronically
California authorized the state Department of Tax and Fee Administration to send electronic notices for sales and use tax assessments and determinations regarding various other taxes and fees as part of a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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September 24, 2024
NY Energy Tax Break Available For Apt. Buildings, Dept. Says
Gas and electricity used in a landlord's New York state apartment buildings, including common areas, are eligible for a sales tax exemption for residential energy sales, the state tax department said in an opinion released Tuesday.
Expert Analysis
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AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier
Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.
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Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World
As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.
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General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI
With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.
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Kentucky Tax Talk: Clash Over Industrial Supplies Exemption
Recent legislative testimony in Kentucky may cause another battle over the state's sales tax exemptions for industrial supplies, even though the testimony appears to mischaracterize the impact of a major state court ruling that upheld the exemptions, say attorneys at Frost Brown.
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Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information
As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.
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Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD
Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.
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A Ministry Of Silly Ideas: SALT In Review
From proposals before a District of Columbia tax revision panel to the defeat of an income tax cut in North Dakota, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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What Ariz. Ruling Means For Taxation Of Digital Services
The Arizona Supreme Court recently declined to review ADP v. Arizona Department of Revenue, letting stand a state appeals court's ruling that software as a service is a taxable rental of tangible personal property, essentially granting the department of revenue power to tax all digital services, say Karen Lowell and Pat Derdenger at Lewis Roca.
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Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence
Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes
Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.
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Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys
Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.
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The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'
The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.
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Permanence And Other Elusive Notions: SALT In Review
From a Michigan income tax that may or may not be permanent to a victory in court for online travel companies, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.