State & Local
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June 24, 2024
Mass. Tax Board Won't Trim Home Value Over Area Conditions
A Massachusetts homeowner's testimony of the poor condition of nearby properties was insufficient to lower his home's assessed value, a state tax panel said in a decision released Monday, upholding the value found by a local assessor.
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June 24, 2024
Ariz. Includes New Jet Fuels In Definition For Excise Tax
Arizona expanded the definition of jet fuel subject to the state's 3.05-cent-per-gallon excise tax under legislation signed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.
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June 24, 2024
La. Cuts Severance Tax Rates On Certain Oil, Gas Production
Louisiana will temporarily reduce its severance tax rates on production from inactive and orphan oil and gas wells under a bill the governor signed.
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June 21, 2024
Supreme Court Leaves Lifeline For Billionaire Income Tax
The U.S. Supreme Court narrowed but did not entirely block the path to billionaire income tax legislation when the majority's opinion declined to weigh constitutional questions about taxing unrealized gains in its decision to uphold a mandatory repatriation levy.
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June 21, 2024
Vt. Lawmakers Override Veto Of Short-Term Rental Surcharge
Vermont legislators overrode the governor's veto of legislation that imposes a 3% surcharge on short-term rentals.
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June 21, 2024
Ore. High Court Affirms Tax On Out-Of-State Tobacco Co.
An out-of-state tobacco company is liable for Oregon's excise tax, the state high court said, agreeing with the Oregon Tax Court that the company's in-state sales activities nullified protections in federal law against triggering state taxation.
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June 21, 2024
Texas Justices Say Settlement Doesn't Bar Oncor's Tax Fight
A settlement agreement doesn't preclude Texas power company Oncor from seeking to correct the value of its electric transmission lines on county appraisal rolls, the state's high court ruled Friday, weighing in on a dispute that divided two lower appeals courts.
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June 21, 2024
Ohio House Bill Would Tax Car Condos As Residential Parcels
Ohio would classify car condominiums as residential property for property tax purposes under a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives.
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June 21, 2024
Ex-Chicago Alderman Burke Can't Delay Sentencing
Former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke can't postpone his Monday sentencing on charges of racketeering, extortion and bribery to await a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the scope of federal bribery law, an Illinois federal judge ruled Friday, saying that decision will have "little or no impact" on Burke's fate.
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June 21, 2024
Kansas Adopts Fewer Tax Brackets, Reduces Bank Tax
Kansas will go from three to two income tax brackets, reduce the state's bank privilege tax and make other tax changes under a bill signed Friday by Gov. Laura Kelly, who previously had resisted shifting to two brackets.
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June 21, 2024
Ex-Mass. Pol Hit With New Charges In COVID Fraud Case
A former Massachusetts state senator already accused of pandemic-related fraud has been charged alongside his sister with attempting to cover up a scheme to make him eligible for unemployment benefits, the U.S. attorney's office announced Friday.
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June 21, 2024
Ohio Board Says Zoning Change Doesn't Cut Properties' Value
The Ohio Board of Tax Appeals rejected on Friday arguments from an owner of five parcels that changes to their zoning that occurred within a year of when they were purchased warranted reducing the properties' values below their sales prices.
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June 21, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Travers Smith, Potamitis Vekris
In this week's Taxation With Representation, RSK Group Ltd. gets a £500 million ($632 million) investment, Boston Scientific Corp. acquires Silk Road Medical Inc., Masdar takes a part of Terna Energy SA, and Tate & Lyle PLC buys CP Kelco from JM Huber Corp.
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June 20, 2024
Trump Calls For Engoron's Recusal In Civil Fraud Case
Former President Donald Trump and other defendants fighting a $465 million civil fraud judgment called on New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron to recuse himself Thursday in light of a once-suspended real estate attorney's recent judicial misconduct claims, which have since sparked a judicial investigation.
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June 20, 2024
Calif. High Court Strikes Anti-Tax Measure From Nov. Ballot
A ballot measure that would make it more difficult to raise taxes in California would revise the state constitution and cannot be enacted by citizen initiative, the state's highest court held Thursday in an opinion that ordered the measure struck from the ballot.
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June 20, 2024
Nebraska Net Revenue Misses Estimate By $49M
Nebraska's net general fund receipts for July through May came in $49 million below a budget projection, according to a monthly report by the state Department of Revenue.
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June 20, 2024
La. Tax Agency Proposes Expanding Informal Payment Plans
Louisiana taxpayers with less than $50,000 in taxes due would be able to pay over five years in an informal installment plan, the Louisiana Department of Revenue said in a proposed rule that would increase the current threshold.
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June 20, 2024
NY High Court To Review Tax On Co.'s Ad Analysis Services
New York's highest court agreed Thursday to hear a research company's appeal of a lower court's finding that its services that measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns constitute taxable information services.
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June 20, 2024
Ind. Rental Property Value Incorrectly Increased, Board Says
An Indiana rental property's assessment will be reduced to its value from a previous tax year because the local assessor's market-based rent analysis failed to support an increased valuation, the state tax review board determined.
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June 20, 2024
Online Photos Not Proof Of Taxable Sales, Miss. Justices Told
A Mississippi trial court erred in ruling that a couple's yard sale transactions were taxable as the decision relied upon Facebook photos used by the state tax department as evidence, the couple told the state Supreme Court.
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June 20, 2024
Ariz. Delays Certification Of 3rd-Party Sales Tax Sourcing
Arizona delayed by two years the implementation of a recently enacted requirement that the state Department of Revenue create a certification process for third-party providers of sales tax sourcing services under a bill signed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.
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June 20, 2024
Mich. Insurer Owes Tax On Mailed Ads, Appeals Court Says
A Michigan life insurance company owes use tax on advertisements mailed by an out-of-state contractor, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled Thursday, upholding a lower court's decision.
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June 20, 2024
Ore. Water Treatment Plant Not On Farmland, Tax Court Says
Portions of farmland used for a wastewater treatment facility were correctly denied a special farm-use assessment rate, the Oregon Tax Court said, allowing the special rate for other contested areas of the property.
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June 20, 2024
Ind. Car Wash Valued Correctly, State Tax Board Says
An Indiana car wash was correctly valued by the local tax board as the property owner failed to provide market evidence to support a reduction in its assessment, the state tax review board determined.
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June 20, 2024
Group To Appeal Rejection Of Suit Against Colo. Funding Law
Colorado's law creating fees to fund transportation enterprises violates the state's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, a conservative group suing to throw out the fees told a state court, saying it was appealing to the state Court of Appeals.
Expert Analysis
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Rankings And Semiconductors: SALT In Review
From an annual ranking of states' business tax climates to yet another incentive package for the semiconductor industry, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Making The Most Of New Tax Credits For EV Charging Stations
The Inflation Reduction Act recently extended, expanded and renewed the tax credits available for electric vehicle charging station projects — but developers must navigate new challenges, including geographic and prevailing wage requirements, to take full advantage of the updated credits, says James English at Clark Hill.
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Key Income Tax Issues Triggered By Remote Employees
A host of fact-specific tax determinations arise in connection with remote work arrangements, from defining working-condition fringe benefit exclusions to nexus-dependent state withholding obligations, complicating compliance for corporate tax counsel and human resources professionals, say Thomas Cryan and Spencer Walters at Ivins Phillips.
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Justices Poised To Reject Narrowing Unclaimed Property Law
After U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments in the so-called MoneyGram case — a dispute between Delaware and several other states over which has the right to about $300 million in unclaimed property — the court seems ready to rule against Delaware, but nuances of the court's reasoning will have a broader sweep, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
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Digital Tax In Md., Incentives In Ore.: SALT In Review
From the defeat of Maryland's tax on digital advertising to incentives proposed in Oregon, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Texas Tax Talk: Previewing 2023 Legislative Priorities
Recent directives issued by the Texas House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees suggest high-profile items such as property tax reform, tax incentives for large, capital-intensive industrial projects, and more will be prioritized in the 2023 legislative session, say Alison Andrews and Matthew Larsen at Baker Botts.
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Rushed Multilateral Negotiations Caused Two-Pillar Tax Mess
Cracks appearing in the two pillars of the 2021 global tax plan stem from a multilateral tax policy process that rushed to issue rules without first resolving fundamental differences between countries or ensuring that the U.S., a key player, could implement them, says Jefferson VanderWolk at Squire Patton.
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Post-Litigation Refund Strategies To Defeat Class Certification
The Third Circuit's recent revival of the Duncan v. Governor of the Virgin Islands class action shows that defendants should strongly consider tendering refunds to class representatives — even after they file suit — to create a substantial obstacle to certification, say attorneys at Covington.
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Football In Florida, Chips In New York: SALT In Review
From the tax implications of an NFL star's relocation in Miami to the incentives that lured a chipmaker to upstate New York, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Internet Gaming Biz Hit The Jackpot With Wire Act Ruling
A Rhode Island federal court's order in IGT v. Garland last month — siding with the First Circuit's interpretation of the Wire Act and confirming it applies only to sports betting — opens up opportunities for interstate online gaming and gambling, which will entail harmonized regulation and taxation regimes, say attorneys at Blank Rome.
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The CHIPS Act: Key Takeaways For Semiconductor Industry
The Biden administration’s recently signed CHIPS Act signals that the U.S. is making progress toward bolstering the domestic semiconductor industry, and manufacturers must prepare by understanding the requirements of the act and associated Department of Commerce guidance, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.
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Groceries In SD, Streaming Services In Illinois: SALT In Review
From the South Dakota governor's proposed grocery exemption to the defeat of a tax on streaming services in Illinois, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Digital Taxation Is Necessary, But Tough To Manage
The U.S. government has started to tackle complex new tax laws as the digital economy continues to grow, but this demands guidelines that will facilitate the growth while protecting investors and the government's finances, say attorneys at Cadwalader.