State & Local

Key State And Local Tax Takeaways From September

Maria Koklanaris
Senior Tax Correspondent

From IBM and Disney asking the U.S. Supreme Court to tackle their disputes with New York over the taxation of foreign royalties they received to a Michigan court battle over whether insurance companies should file as a unitary group, September provided a busy start to autumn in the state and local tax world. Here, Law360 presents key developments to know from the past month.

Transfer Pricing Guru On Assisting States, Combined Filing

Paul Williams
Tax Correspondent

Ednaldo Silva’s transfer pricing analytics company EdgarStat LLC recently renewed its contract with New Jersey, furthering his decadeslong run of assisting states that aim to curb profit shifting by scrutinizing intercompany transactions. Silva spoke to Law360 about his transfer pricing philosophy and how he envisions combined reporting affecting the field.

The Tax Angle: Corporate Inversions, SALT Cap

Stephen K. Cooper
Editor-at-Large

From a look at criticisms that the 2017 federal tax law failed to stop corporations from moving overseas to GOP efforts to navigate the SALT cap ahead of the November elections, here's a peek into a reporter's notebook on a few of the week's developing tax stories.

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.

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.

AI May Limit Key Learning Opportunities For Young Attorneys

The thing that’s so powerful about artificial intelligence is also what’s most scary about it — its ability to detect patterns may curtail young attorneys’ chance to practice the lower-level work of managing cases, preventing them from ever honing the pattern recognition skills that undergird creative lawyering, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.

Why Now Is The Time For Law Firms To Hire Lateral Partners

Partner and associate mobility data from the second quarter of this year suggest that there's never been a better time in recent years for law firms to hire lateral candidates, particularly experienced partners — though this necessitates an understanding of potential red flags, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics

Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.

It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

Frames Of Deference: SALT In Review

From a challenge to New York state regulations that follows on the end of Chevron deference to a court ruling siding with the Nebraska Revenue Department's view of a tax deduction, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.

Navigating A Potpourri Of Possible Transparency Act Pitfalls

Despite the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's continued release of guidance for complying with the Corporate Transparency Act, its interpretation remains in flux, making it important for companies to understand potentially problematic areas of ambiguity in the practical application of the law, say attorneys at Sidley.

How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations

Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.

Local Taxes And Repercussions: SALT In Review

From a study of local taxes to news that corporations will relocate to tax-friendlier places, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.

Financial Incentives May Alleviate Affordable Housing Crisis

There is a wide array of financial incentives and assistance that the government can provide to both real estate developers and individuals to chip away at the housing affordability problem from multiple angles, say Eric DeBear and Madeline Williams at Cozen.

Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles

Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.

Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World

After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.