State & Local
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June 06, 2024
NRA Can't Undo $6.4M Misconduct Verdict In NY AG Case
A New York judge on Thursday rejected a request by the National Rifle Association and its longtime executives to set aside a jury's $6.4 million verdict that found they misspent charitable funds, saying Attorney General Letitia James provided sufficient evidence for the jurors to rule in her favor.
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June 06, 2024
Vt. Conforms State Law To Fed. Income, Estate Tax Statutes
Vermont conformed its income tax law to federal income tax and estate tax statutes and will allow municipalities to enact local-option taxes without charter amendments that require approval by the state General Assembly under a bill signed by the governor.
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June 06, 2024
Colorado To Study Simplification Of Local Lodging Taxes
Colorado will expand the scope of a task force responsible for simplifying the state's sales and use tax regime to improve the local lodging tax system as part of a bill signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis.
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June 06, 2024
Generative AI Poses Novel State Tax Questions, Tax Pros Say
Open questions are swirling around state tax rules for the usage of generative artificial intelligence platforms, including whether they should be treated as canned or custom software, tax professionals said Thursday.
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June 06, 2024
Ind. Tax Court Backs Lower Valuation For Department Store
The value of an Indiana Dillard's store was correctly reduced to about $5 million for tax years 2018 through 2020 by the state tax board after taking into consideration the owner's income approach analysis, the state's tax court ruled.
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June 06, 2024
NY Lawmakers OK Change To Tax Tribunal's Client Rep Rules
New York would allow individuals to choose from an expanded list of representatives in matters before the Tax Appeals Tribunal under a bill passed by the state Legislature that goes next to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
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June 06, 2024
Fox Rothschild Brings On Tax Pro From Atlanta Boutique
Fox Rothschild LLP has added an attorney in Atlanta from tax law boutique Wiggam Law to strengthen the firm's taxation and wealth planning department.
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June 06, 2024
Colorado Extends Contaminated Land Cleanup Tax Credit
Colorado will extend its environmental remediation of contaminated land income tax credit for five years under a bill signed by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis.
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June 06, 2024
NY Senate OKs Bill Expanding Digital Gaming Credit
New York would expand its income tax credit for digital gaming production by lowering the production cost required to qualify and eliminating the in-state production cost threshold under a bill passed by the Senate.
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June 06, 2024
State Digital Tax Rules Lack Consistency, Clarity, Tax Pros Say
Courts have reached different conclusions over whether state definitions of tangible personal property encompass certain elements of the digital economy, underscoring the inconsistent tax treatment of digital transactions and a need for guidance on the issue, tax professionals said Thursday.
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June 06, 2024
Mass. Tax Collections Beat Estimates By $700M Through May
Massachusetts' total tax collections from July through May were $700 million higher than expected, according to the state Department of Revenue.
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June 06, 2024
NJ Corp. Tax Overhaul Regs Expected By Nov., Director Says
New Jersey is on track to release regulations this fall on an omnibus law from last year that changed several provisions of the state's corporate income tax system, the state Division of Taxation's acting director said Thursday.
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June 05, 2024
Citibank Can't Avoid Paying $6M Wash. Biz Tax
Washington's high court won't spare Citibank from a $6 million business tax bill, declining to revisit a ruling that the bank's money-making activities amounted to a physical presence in the state despite not having any local branches open at the time.
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June 05, 2024
Ill. Budget Has Higher Cap On NOLs, Sports Betting Tax Hike
Illinois will extend a cap on corporate net operating loss deductions, increase its sports betting tax and reduce sales tax rebates for retailers under a $53.1 billion fiscal year 2025 budget signed Wednesday by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
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June 05, 2024
Colo. To Exempt Modular Homes From Sales Tax
Colorado will exempt new modular home sales from state tax under a bill signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis.
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June 05, 2024
Calif. OTA Says Avis Owes $12.6M Tax On Asset Acquisition
An acquisition by car rental company Avis of an indirect affiliate's vehicle management business does not constitute a merger and is therefore subject to tax, the California Office of Tax Appeals ruled.
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June 05, 2024
Colo. To Allow Tax Credit For Employee-Owned Businesses
Colorado will allow new businesses that are employee-owned to claim an income tax credit for business expenses under a bill signed by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis.
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June 05, 2024
NY Gov. Indefinitely Halts Manhattan Congestion Pricing
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday shelved congestion pricing just weeks before officials were set to implement a fee for vehicles entering Manhattan's busiest corridor, in a dramatic about-face following intense backlash and litigation from residents and business owners grappling with the high cost of living.
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June 05, 2024
Hawaii To Adjust Income Tax Brackets, Up Standard Deduction
Hawaii will adjust its individual income tax brackets and increase its standard deduction to account for inflation and will exempt certain medical services from the state's general excise tax under bills signed by the governor.
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June 05, 2024
Minn. Justices Back Doctor's Penalty For Frivolous Tax Claim
Minnesota's penalty for filing a frivolous tax claim is constitutional, and the penalty as applied to a nonresident doctor and his wife over nearly $1.2 million in undeclared income is also sound, the Minnesota Supreme Court said Wednesday.
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June 05, 2024
Win May Embolden IRS Use Of Economic Substance Doctrine
The IRS' successful wielding of the economic substance doctrine to characterize multinational telecommunications corporation Liberty Global's sophisticated set of intercompany deals as an abusive tax shelter could encourage the agency to apply similar analysis to even the most basic tax transactions.
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June 05, 2024
Ohio Senate Bill Seeks To Double Film Tax Credit Cap
Ohio would double the amount of film and theater production tax credits it can award annually and eliminate its credit for film and theater capital improvement projects under a bill introduced in the state Senate.
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June 05, 2024
Colo. To Look At Federal Taxable Income As State Basis
Colorado is directing its state auditor to evaluate its use of federal taxable income as the basis for state taxable income under legislation signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis.
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June 04, 2024
Recreational Marijuana To Be On SD Ballot For 3rd Time
Recreational marijuana advocates have successfully put a measure on South Dakota's November ballot, giving state voters a third shot at legalizing the drug just two years after they declined to do so.
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June 04, 2024
Mastercard Owes $7.7M In SC Income Tax Case, ALJ Rules
Mastercard's network, which allows cardholders to buy goods and services and withdraw money, is its income-producing activity, occurs within South Carolina, and thus obligates the company to pay about $7.7 million in taxes, fees and interest, a state administrative law judge ruled in a decision posted Tuesday.
Expert Analysis
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Property In Pa. And Corporate Income In Mo.: SALT In Review
From the latest attempt to do away with Pennsylvania's property tax to an assault on Missouri's corporate income tax, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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The Forces Defining Sales Tax Policy And Compliance In 2023
In the coming year, expect to see tax policymakers grapple with the complexity of state and local tax compliance, cryptocurrency, metaverse transactions, and more, says Scott Peterson at Avalara.
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Start The Revolution Without Me: SALT In Review
From a sweeping push toward taxing the rich to a proposed tax review board in Indiana, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Atty-Client Privilege Arguments Give Justices A Moving Target
Recent oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case regarding the scope of the attorney-client privilege appeared to raise more questions about multipurpose counsel communications than they answered, as the parties presented shifting iterations of a predictable, easily applied test for evaluating the communications' purpose, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.
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States Must Align Distribution Age Rules With Secure 2.0
To prevent unintended escheatment of retirement benefits, states will need to undertake legislative efforts to amend unclaimed property standards that conflict with the Secure 2.0 Act's required minimum distribution age increases, says Michael Giovannini at Alston & Bird.
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Va. Tax Nixed, NJ Shoplifter Targeted: SALT In Review
From a tax declared unconstitutional in Virginia to a New Jersey prosecutor's attempt to include sales tax in a shoplifting charge, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Midterm Cannabis Results Remind That Progress Is Not Linear
It may appear odd that the majority of state proposals for adult-use cannabis failed in November’s midterm elections when legalization is polling at an all-time high, but history moves in fits and starts, and there are clearly still some blind spots and hidden variables affecting voter perceptions, say Whitt Steineker and Mason Kruse at Bradley Arant.
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Wash. B&O Tax Proposal Is A Step In The Right Direction
The Washington Tax Structure Work Group’s proposal to swap the state’s problematic business and occupation tax for a Texas-style margins tax is far from a perfect solution, but it has opened the door for a long-overdue conversation about B&O tax changes that would provide much-needed administrative relief, says Nikki Dobay at Greenberg Traurig.
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This Year's Top 10 Developments In State And Local Tax
Attorneys at Grant Thornton rank the 10 biggest state and local tax issues of 2022, including the adoption of state pass-through entity taxes, Maryland's digital advertising tax and American Rescue Plan Act litigation.
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What To Expect In 2023: SALT In Review
Starting with predictions for the coming year, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Texas Tax Talk: What To Know About The Prefiled Bills
Many of the Texas tax bills prefiled ahead of the state's January 2023 legislative session predictably reduce property tax, but it remains unclear how online sales tax sourcing will be addressed, and an expiring school district property tax incentive program will be reimplemented, say Matt Larsen and Alison Andrews at Baker Botts.
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Tax Cuts In Both Dakotas: SALT In Review
From tax-cut proposals in the Dakotas to a New Mexico artist who tried to represent himself, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Kentucky Tax Talk: Where Art Thou Kentucky Amnesty?
Attorneys at Frost Brown unpack the reasons why Kentucky's tax amnesty program never got off the ground this year, why implementation in 2023 won't be impeded by similar hurdles and how administration of the program may affect other Department of Revenue services once it gets going.