State & Local
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March 13, 2025
Business Groups Slam Md. Plan For $1B Tax On Biz Services
Representatives of a wide range of Maryland businesses urged a pair of state legislative panels to reject a measure to impose a new sales and use tax worth more than $1 billion annually on numerous business-to-business services.
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March 13, 2025
Former IRS Counsel Joins Hinshaw In Chicago
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP announced that a longtime government attorney who most recently served as deputy managing counsel of the Internal Revenue Service Office of Chief Counsel in Chicago, has joined the firm's government practice as a partner.
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March 13, 2025
Akin's Energy Transition Group Grows With V&E Tax Atty
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP has hired a Vinson & Elkins LLP tax counsel who has spent the past decade counseling clients on the federal income tax aspects of energy transition transactions, the firm announced Thursday.
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March 13, 2025
Kentucky General Revenues Up $166M Through Feb.
Kentucky's general revenue collection from July through February outpaced the same period in the previous year by $166 million, according to a report by the Office of State Budget Director.
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March 13, 2025
Ohio General Revenues Through Feb. Beat Estimate By $227M
Ohio's general revenue from July through February surpassed forecasts by $227 million, according to a report by the state Office of Budget Management.
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March 13, 2025
Colo. Senate OKs Suspending Interim Tax Committees
Two legislative interim committees addressing tax issues in Colorado, along with other interim panels, would not meet in 2025 under legislation approved unanimously Thursday by the state Senate.
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March 13, 2025
NY Bill Seeks Tax Break For Residential Green Infrastructure
New York state would provide a partial property tax abatement for owners of residential properties in New York City who undertake green infrastructure projects as part of a bill introduced in the state Senate.
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March 13, 2025
Colo. House OKs Tax Credit To Attract Sundance Film Festival
Colorado would back its current effort to attract the Sundance Film Festival to the state with a 10-year, $34 million tax credit under legislation passed Thursday by the state House of Representatives.
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March 12, 2025
Mich. Appellate Judge Pans Medical Pot Co.'s Sales Tax Claim
A Michigan Court of Appeals judge sounded skeptical Wednesday of a medical cannabis provisioning center's claim that nonbinding guidance from the state tax agency shielded it from collecting sales tax for the first year after a law regulating its type of business was enacted.
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March 12, 2025
Property Tax Can Fund Retired Cops' Insurance, Panel Says
A Michigan state appeals court on Tuesday said property taxes imposed by four municipalities to cover the cost of health insurance for retired firefighters and police officers are not illegal, finding a law established before a constitutional amendment barring new taxes without a public vote allowed taxation for broad retirement benefits.
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March 12, 2025
Digital Ad Tax Bills Filed As States Watch Maryland, Pros Say
States continue to explore taxing digital advertising services, with several filing bills or making adjustments to regulations that would permit such taxation, tax professionals said Wednesday.
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March 12, 2025
Lighting Co. Says Ill. Remote Seller Tax Rule Burdensome
An Illinois law on sourcing of sales for tax purposes places an undue burden on remote sellers, a lighting equipment wholesaler told a state tax tribunal, saying it did not have sufficient nexus with the state to justify being subject to state sales taxes.
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March 12, 2025
Ore. House Bill Seeks Income Subtraction For Tips
Oregon would allow a subtraction modification equal to a taxpayer's tipped income beginning in 2026 under a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives.
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March 12, 2025
ND Lawmakers OK Recommending Tribal Land Taxation Study
North Dakota would direct state lawmakers to consider studying issues related to the taxation of land owned by enrolled tribal members who reside on Native American reservations under a bill passed by the state Legislative Assembly and headed to the governor.
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March 12, 2025
Md. Senate Panel OKs Digital Ad Tax Appeal Process
Assessments of Maryland's digital advertising gross revenue tax would be subject to the same administrative appeals process as most other taxes in the state under legislation passed Wednesday by the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee.
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March 11, 2025
NY Lawmakers Pitch Tax Hikes, Retaining Entity Tax Deadline
New York would raise the state's top personal and corporate income tax rates in budget plans that state lawmakers released that varied from certain elements of Gov. Kathy Hochul's budget proposal, including by eschewing Hochul's suggestion to push back the annual election date for entity-level taxes.
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March 11, 2025
With Guardrails, AI Is A Valuable Tax Tool, Tax Pros Say
Relevance of artificial intelligence in the tax world is expanding rapidly, and individuals and businesses should consider using it as long as cautions and guidelines are in place, tax professionals who have adopted the technology said Tuesday.
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March 11, 2025
12 Govs. Assert States' Sovereignty Against CTA In 5th Circ.
A dozen Republican governors, led by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, urged the Fifth Circuit to maintain a nationwide block of enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act, arguing the law undermines the traditional authority states have to regulate businesses.
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March 11, 2025
Ohio High Court Orders City Tax Question To Appear On Ballot
An Ohio county board of elections disregarded state law when it stopped a city's proposed extension of an additional income tax levy from appearing on a ballot, the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
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March 11, 2025
Carlton Fields Tax Ace Jumps To Trenam Law In Fla.
Florida's Trenam Law has added a past chair of the tax section of the state bar after her 25-year stint at Carlton Fields PA.
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March 11, 2025
NY High Court Judges Quiz Attys On Scope Of Information Tax
New York Court of Appeals judges wrestled Tuesday with whether a lower court correctly found that a research company's measuring of the effectiveness of advertising campaigns constituted taxable information services, with the chief judge pondering whether the ruling could render legal services taxable.
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March 11, 2025
Minn. General Revenues In Feb. $116M Ahead Of Forecasts
Minnesota's general revenue collection in February exceeded budget forecasts by $116 million, according to a report by the state Department of Management and Budget.
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March 11, 2025
Indiana Tax Collection Through Feb. Beats Estimate By $151M
Indiana's general revenue collection from July through February outpaced forecasts by $151 million, according to a report from the State Budget Agency.
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March 11, 2025
Calif. Revenues Through February Up $4.3B From Forecast
California's revenue collection from July through February outpaced estimates by $4.3 billion, according to a report by the state Comptroller's Office.
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March 11, 2025
Minn. Panel Advances Flat Tax On Charitable Gambling
Minnesota would reduce its tax rate on receipts of lawful gambling conducted by charitable institutions to a flat 5% under legislation advanced Tuesday by a House Committee.
Expert Analysis
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A Proposal With Sugar On Top In Mass.: SALT In Review
From a call to exempt candy from sales tax in Massachusetts to an unusual property tax idea in New Jersey, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Inconsistent Injury-In-Fact Rules Hinder Federal Practice
A recent Third Circuit decision, contradicting a previous ruling about whether consumers of contaminated products have suffered an injury in fact, illustrates the deep confusion this U.S. Supreme Court standard creates among federal judges and practitioners, who deserve a simpler method of determining which cases have federal standing, says Eric Dwoskin at Dwoskin Wasdin.
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In-House Counsel Pointers For Preserving Atty-Client Privilege
Several recent rulings illustrate the challenges in-house counsel can face when attempting to preserve attorney-client privilege, but a few best practices can help safeguard communications and effectively assert the privilege in an increasingly scrutinized corporate environment, says Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics.
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National Bank Act Rulings Facilitate More Preemption Analysis
Two recent National Bank Act preemption decisions from an Illinois federal court and the Ninth Circuit provide the first applications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s May ruling in Cantero v. Bank of America, opening the potential for several circuit courts to address the issue this year, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.
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Lights, Camera, Ethics? TV Lawyers Tend To Set Bad Example
Though fictional movies and television shows portraying lawyers are fun to watch, Hollywood’s inaccurate depictions of legal ethics can desensitize attorneys to ethics violations and lead real-life clients to believe that good lawyers take a scorched-earth approach, says Nancy Rapoport at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
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Accountant-Owned Law Firms Could Blur Ethical Lines
KPMG’s recent application to open a legal practice in Arizona represents the first overture by an accounting firm to take advantage of the state’s relaxed law firm ownership rules, but enforcing and supervising the practice of law by nonattorneys could prove particularly challenging, says Seth Laver at Goldberg Segalla.
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AI Will Soon Transform The E-Discovery Industrial Complex
Todd Itami at Covington discusses how generative artificial intelligence will reshape the current e-discovery paradigm, replacing the blunt instrument of data handling with a laser scalpel of fully integrated enterprise solutions — after first making e-discovery processes technically and legally harder.
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When Innovation Overwhelms The Rule Of Law
In an era where technology is rapidly evolving and artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere, it’s worth asking if the law — both substantive precedent and procedural rules — can keep up with the light speed of innovation, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Imagine The Possibilities Of Openly Autistic Lawyering
Andi Mazingo at Lumen Law, who was diagnosed with autism about midway through her career, discusses how the legal profession can create inclusive workplaces that empower openly autistic lawyers and enhance innovation, and how neurodivergent attorneys can navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with disclosing one’s diagnosis.
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Litigation Funding Disclosure Debate: Strategy Considerations
In the ongoing debate over whether courts should require disclosure of litigation funding, funders and plaintiffs tend to argue against such mandates, but voluntarily disclosing limited details about a funding arrangement can actually confer certain benefits to plaintiffs in some scenarios, say Andrew Stulce and Marc Cavan at Longford Capital.
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Open Season On A Department Of Revenue: SALT In Review
From a Kentucky proposal that would put the state's tax staffers in the crosshairs to yet another call to exempt tips from tax, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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5 Ways To Create Effective Mock Assignments For Associates
In order to effectively develop associates’ critical thinking skills, firms should design mock assignments that contain a few key ingredients, from messy fact patterns to actionable feedback, says Abdi Shayesteh at AltaClaro.
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Mentorship Resolutions For The New Year
Attorneys tend to focus on personal achievements or career milestones when they set yearly goals, but one important area often gets overlooked in this process — mentoring relationships, which are some of the most effective tools for professional growth, say Kelly Galligan at Rutan & Tucker and Andra Greene at Phillips ADR.