State & Local
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March 04, 2025
NY Creates Framework For County Tax On Short-Term Rentals
New York established a framework for counties to impose tax on short-term rentals as part of a bill signed by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
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March 04, 2025
DeSantis Backs Canning Fla. Rent Tax, Cutting Property Taxes
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called on state legislators Tuesday to eliminate the state's business rent tax on commercial leases and reaffirmed his pledge to support an effort by lawmakers to draft a constitutional amendment that would cut property taxes.
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March 04, 2025
Arizona Updates Income Tax Conformity With Federal Code
Arizona updated its conformity with the Internal Revenue Code for state income tax purposes under a bill signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs.
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March 04, 2025
Florida Net Revenue Through Feb. Beats Estimate By $596M
Florida's general revenue collection from July through January outpaced estimates by $596 million, according to a report by the Office of Economic and Demographic Research released Tuesday.
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March 04, 2025
Del. Net General Revenue $150M Higher Than Last Year
Delaware's net receipts from July through January beat collections during the same period in the last fiscal year by $150 million, according to a report by the state Department of Finance.
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March 04, 2025
Ore. Bill Would OK Local Pot Production Taxes
Oregon would allow certain rural counties to ask their voters to allow taxes of up to 3% on the value of marijuana production in their unincorporated areas under legislation in the state Senate.
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March 04, 2025
Ore. House OKs Extending Medical Provider Taxes
Oregon would extend the sunset on medical provider and insurance assessments, worth more than $5 billion over four years and used to help fund state healthcare programs, under legislation approved by the state House of Representatives.
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March 04, 2025
W.Va. Revenues Through Feb. Beat Estimates By $62M
West Virginia's general fund revenue collection from July through February outpaced forecasts by $62 million, according to a report by the State Budget Office.
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March 04, 2025
Colo. Finance Panel OKs Employee Ownership Tax Break
Colorado would allow tax deductions for certain businesses that convert to employee ownership under legislation approved by a House committee.
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March 04, 2025
Mont. Lowers Electronic Tax Payment Requirement Threshold
Montana lowered the threshold above which tax liabilities must be paid electronically to one-tenth of the amount under the preexisting law as part of a bill signed by the governor.
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March 03, 2025
Real Estate Bills To Watch In Florida's Legislative Session
Florida's annual two-month legislative session officially kicks off Tuesday, but lawmakers have already been at work drafting and filing bills. With a total of 1,821 bills filed between the two chambers before last Friday's deadline, a considerable number have the potential to impact real estate, with several likely to feature prominently in upcoming debates.
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March 03, 2025
Mich. Homeowners Denied Cert. In RICO Foreclosure Suit
A Michigan federal judge followed a recent string of decisions denying class certification to homeowners who allege local governments profited from the sales of their tax-foreclosed property, rejecting Wayne County residents' attempt to certify a class of people who say a racketeering scheme stripped them of their foreclosed homes' surplus equity.
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March 03, 2025
Nonprofits Warn Cuts May Force Closures, End Tax Exemption
Leaders of nonprofits providing healthcare, housing and other critical services for low-income Americans warned Monday that the mix of White House funding cuts and executive orders could force them to close and even jeopardize their tax-exempt status.
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March 03, 2025
Calif. OTA Says Campground Owed Relief After Audit Error
A California campground that operates as a wedding venue was improperly assessed sales tax for wedding venue fees because the auditor had already reviewed the issue in a previous audit, the state Office of Tax Appeals said in a ruling released Monday.
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March 03, 2025
Co.'s CFO Liable For Sales Taxes, Calif. OTA Rules
The chief financial officer for an auto body repair company is a person responsible for the company and thus personally liable for sales tax the company owed, the California Office of Tax Appeals ruled in an opinion released Monday.
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March 03, 2025
Calif. OTA Upholds Rejection Of $2M Charitable Tax Deduction
A California couple was correctly denied a $2 million charitable deduction that was claimed outside the five-year carryover period, the state Office of Tax Appeals said in a nonprecedential opinion released Monday.
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March 03, 2025
Minn. Bill Would Tax Products With 'Forever Chemicals'
Minnesota would impose a tax on manufacturers' and retailers' sales of products that contain a group of chemicals called PFAs, commonly referred to as forever chemicals, under a bill introduced Monday in the state Senate.
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March 03, 2025
Treasury Halts Enforcement Of Corporate Transparency Act
The U.S. Treasury Department won't enforce the Corporate Transparency Act on U.S. businesses and will change regulations so it only applies to foreign companies registered stateside, according to an announcement that activists said invites criminals into the U.S. and lawyers said could provoke judicial scrutiny.
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March 03, 2025
Holwell Shuster Atty Fights NJ Tax On Insurance Contribution
A Holwell Shuster & Goldberg LLP attorney asked the New Jersey Tax Court to cancel an income tax assessment from the state Division of Taxation that he argued erroneously included contributions to a former employer's healthcare plan in his taxable income.
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March 03, 2025
Ohio Church Property Can't Claim Exemption, Board Says
An Ohio church association owes property tax on one of its properties, because it was not used solely for charitable purposes, the state Board of Tax Appeals ruled.
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March 03, 2025
Colo. Says 1933 Dictionary Supports Netflix Subscription Tax
The plain meaning of tangible personal property has long encompassed Netflix streaming video subscriptions, Colorado's tax department told a state appeals court, urging it to allow a sales tax on the company's products.
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March 03, 2025
Miss. To Impose Tax On Winemakers' Direct Sales, Shipments
Mississippi will impose a tax on winemakers who sell and ship wine directly to residents as part of a bill signed by the governor.
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March 03, 2025
RI Bill Aims To Pause Tax On Utility Company Earnings
Rhode Island would suspend the state's gross earnings tax on electric and gas companies as part of a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives.
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March 03, 2025
Texas Bill Seeks To Bar Tax Breaks For Some Solar Facilities
Texas would prohibit political jurisdictions from creating property tax exemptions for high-capacity solar energy generating and storing facilities or their equipment under a bill filed Monday in the state House of Representatives.
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March 03, 2025
Minn. Bill Seeks EV Charging Tax, Repeal Of Surcharge
Minnesota would impose a tax on electricity for electric vehicles obtained at public charging stations and end the state's current surcharge on the vehicles under legislation introduced Monday in the state Senate.
Expert Analysis
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Home Canning Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Making my own pickles and jams requires seeing a process through from start to finish, as does representing clients from the start of a dispute at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board through any appeals to the Federal Circuit, says attorney Kevin McNish.
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Sound Ideas And An Ill-Advised Gamble: SALT In Review
From potential reforms in Louisiana to tax incentives for a gambling company in Colorado, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys
Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.
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Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code
As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.
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The Pop Culture Docket: Justice Lebovits On Gilbert And Sullivan
Characters in the 19th century comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan break the rules of good lawyering by shamelessly throwing responsible critical thought to the wind, providing hilarious lessons for lawyers and judges on how to avoid a surfeit of traps and tribulations, say acting New York Supreme Court Justice Gerald Lebovits and law student Tara Scown.
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State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape
Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.
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8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney
A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.
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Challenge To Ill. Card Fee Law Explores Compliance Hurdles
A recent federal lawsuit challenging an Illinois law that will soon forbid electronic payment networks from charging fees for processing the tax and tip portions of card transactions, fleshes out the glaring compliance challenges and exposure risks financial institutions must be ready to face next summer, says Martin Kiernan at Amundsen Davis.
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This Election, We Need To Talk About Court Process
In recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has markedly transformed judicial processes — from summary judgment standards to notice pleadings — which has, in turn, affected individuals’ substantive rights, and we need to consider how the upcoming presidential election may continue this pattern, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Letting The People Decide: SALT In Review
RSM's David Brunori offers a look at tax-related ballot questions before the voters in 16 states this fall.
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Mental Health First Aid: A Brief Primer For Attorneys
Amid a growing body of research finding that attorneys face higher rates of mental illness than the general population, firms should consider setting up mental health first aid training programs to help lawyers assess mental health challenges in their colleagues and intervene with compassion, say psychologists Shawn Healy and Tracey Meyers.
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Colorado Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3
In the third quarter of 2024, Colorado's banking and financial services sector faced both regulatory updates and changes to state law due to recent federal court decisions — with consequences for local governments, mortgage lenders, state-chartered trust companies and federally chartered lenders serving Colorado consumers, says Sarah Auchterlonie at Brownstein Hyatt.
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Litigation Inspiration: Honoring Your Learned Profession
About 30,000 people who took the bar exam in July will learn they passed this fall, marking a fitting time for all attorneys to remember that they are members in a specialty club of learned professionals — and the more they can keep this in mind, the more benefits they will see, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.