State & Local
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July 17, 2024
Rising Star: Cravath's Kiran Sheffrin
Kiran Sheffrin of Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP has advised companies from Anheuser-Busch InBev to Valvoline on multibillion-dollar deals, including a $50 billion combination resulting in the formation of pharmaceutical giant Viatris, earning her a spot among the tax law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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July 17, 2024
DC Mayor Allows Council's Tax Plan To Go To Congress
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser returned — without her signature — a plan approved unanimously by the district council to raise taxes on high-end property sales and make other tax and policy changes, sending the matter to Congress for final approval.
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July 16, 2024
NC Panel Affirms Property Tax Valuation For Ashley Furniture
About 300 acres of property belonging to Ashley Furniture in North Carolina were properly valued at about $60 million for tax years 2018 and 2019, a state appeals court panel ruled Tuesday in favor of the state property tax commission.
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July 16, 2024
Va. Tax Head Nixes Assessment On Man For Work In India
A Virginia man was wrongly assessed income tax for services he conducted while living in India, the state's tax commissioner said in a letter ruling published Tuesday.
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July 16, 2024
Capital One Says Lack Of Fla. Ties Warrants Tax Refund
The Florida Department of Revenue should issue Capital One Bank a refund of bank franchise tax because the company did not have a sufficient connection to the state to be assessed the tax, the bank told a state court.
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July 16, 2024
Pa. Court Upholds $23M Value Of Vacant Hospital's Parking
A vacant hospital's parking area in Pennsylvania was properly valued at $23.2 million, the state Commonwealth Court ruled, finding that a trial court had the discretion to apply the sales comparison approach to the valuation.
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July 16, 2024
County Says Pittsburgh Schools Can't Force Reassessment
As one taxing body out of many in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, the School District of Pittsburgh lacks standing in its lawsuit seeking to force a countywide reassessment of property values, the county said in its preliminary objections to the suit.
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July 16, 2024
Calif. Extends Tax Board's Power To Send Electronic Notices
The California Franchise Tax Board will continue to be allowed to notify taxpayers electronically when statements, bills and other communications are available for online viewing under a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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July 16, 2024
RI Man Must Amend State Tax Return After EITC Rejected
A Rhode Island man was required to file an amended state income tax return after the Internal Revenue Service disallowed his federal earned income tax credit, the state Division of Taxation ruled.
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July 16, 2024
Energy Co. Fights Partnership Losses Denial In NJ Tax Court
An energy company told the New Jersey Tax Court that the state's denial of partnership losses stemming from its interest in a solar energy business was unconstitutional based on precedent outlining the apportionment rules for operational losses between nonunitary entities.
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July 16, 2024
SD General Fund Receipts In 2024 Up $24M From Estimates
South Dakota's general fund receipts in the 2024 fiscal year were roughly $24 million higher than budget estimates, according to the state Bureau of Finance and Management.
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July 16, 2024
Ill. Revenue Surpasses Budget Estimate By $124M
Illinois' total general fund revenue in the 2024 fiscal year outperformed a forecast by $124 million, the state Office of Management and Budget reported.
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July 16, 2024
Rising Star: Skadden's Melinda Gammello
Melinda Gammello of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP has advised numerous clients before the U.S. Tax Court and elsewhere on complex tax matters, including transfer pricing issues and the treatment of financial transactions within a company, earning her a spot among the tax law practitioners under 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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July 16, 2024
The 2024 Diversity Snapshot: What You Need To Know
Law firms' ongoing initiatives to address diversity challenges have driven another year of progress, with the representation of minority attorneys continuing to improve across the board, albeit at a slower pace than in previous years. Here's our data dive into minority representation at law firms in 2023.
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July 16, 2024
These Firms Have The Most Diverse Equity Partnerships
Law360’s law firm survey shows that firms' efforts to diversify their equity partner ranks are lagging. But some have embraced a broader talent pool at the equity partner level. Here are the ones that stood out.
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July 16, 2024
Ind. General Fund Revenue $15M Under Forecast
Indiana's general fund revenue in the 2024 fiscal year totaled $15 million less than a budget forecast, according to the State Budget Agency.
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July 16, 2024
3 Tax Reg Groups That May Be Shaky After High Court Rulings
The U.S. Supreme Court issued two rulings that, when combined, open up long-standing federal regulations to challenges without judicial deference to agencies — a pairing that could weaken several categories of tax rules, including guidance issued under the 2017 federal overhaul. Here, Law360 looks at three batches of tax regulations that may be vulnerable in the aftermath of the high court's decisions.
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July 15, 2024
NRA's Policies Called 'Dumpster Fire' As 2nd NY Trial Opens
The New York attorney general cast the National Rifle Association as unrepentant and unreformed as a second-phase bench trial began in state court Monday, after a jury had found the group and its ex-officers liable for misspending millions.
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July 15, 2024
CarMax Distorted SC Activity To Lower Taxes, Judge Says
CarMax Auto Superstores Inc. used intercompany transactions to distort an entity's business activity and thus its tax burden in South Carolina, an administrative law judge ruled, finding the company should have used an alternative apportionment method to properly calculate income.
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July 15, 2024
Tax, Biz Groups Ask MTC To Toss Draft Truck Sourcing Rule
The Multistate State Tax Commission should scrap or pause its attempt to create an alternative to the current mileage-based sourcing rule for trucking receipts, a tax group and others said during a meeting of an MTC work group Monday.
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July 15, 2024
Pa. Extends Tax Breaks To Longtime Pittsburgh Homeowners
Pennsylvania will expand a property tax relief program to allow longtime homeowners in Pittsburgh to claim tax breaks related to rising real estate taxes under a bill signed by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro.
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July 15, 2024
Pa. Property Owner's Tax Appeal Meritless, Court Says
A Philadelphia property owner properly had its appeal of a tax assessment dismissed by a trial court because its complaints were meritless, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court affirmed.
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July 15, 2024
IBM Taps Jones Day To Take NY Royalty Tax Fight To Justices
IBM asked the U.S. Supreme Court for more time to submit a petition for review of a New York high court decision that upheld tax on royalties received from foreign affiliates, saying it recently retained Jones Day to handle the case.
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July 15, 2024
Akerman Brings On Chamberlain Hrdlicka Tax Pros In Atlanta
Akerman LLP announced Monday that it picked up a pair of new partners for its tax practice group in Atlanta who were previously with Chamberlain Hrdlicka White Williams & Aughtry.
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July 15, 2024
W.Va. Income Tax Phaseout Triggered By Revenue
West Virginia will continue phasing out the state's income tax after the state met the tax cut revenue triggers, Gov. Jim Justice announced.
Expert Analysis
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Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance
A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.
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Trump Hush Money Case Offers Master Class In Trial Strategy
The New York criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump typifies some of the greatest challenges that lawyers face in crafting persuasive presentations, providing lessons on how to handle bad facts, craft a simple story that withstands attack, and cross-examine with that story in mind, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System
As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data
Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Kentucky Tax Talk: Budget Focus Cools Tax Reform Efforts
There were some noteworthy tax developments during Kentucky’s legislative session — like the revival of local tax reform and enactment of another tax amnesty program — but major tax initiatives, like those seen in recent years, were largely tabled as legislators focused on establishing the state’s two-year budget, say attorneys at Frost Brown.
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NY Tax Talk: Primary Function Is Key Analysis For Sales Tax
Two sales tax cases recently decided by New York's Appellate Division illustrate why both taxpayers and the state's Department of Revenue subscribe to the primary function test, a logical way to determine whether business transactions are subject to sales tax, say Elizabeth Cha and Jeremy Gove at Eversheds Sutherland.
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Time To Fix NYC's Broken Property Assessment System
A New York appellate court's decision to revive Tax Equity Now New York v. City of New York may force the city to revamp its outdated and unfair real estate tax assessment system, which could be fixed with a couple of simple changes, says Seth Feldman at Romer Debbas.
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Strange Notions Bubble Up: SALT In Review
From an assault on North Carolina's phaseout of its corporate income tax to a court ruling on the taxability of sparkling water in Pennsylvania, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert
As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic
Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals
Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.
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4 Ways To Refresh Your Law Firm's Marketing Strategy
With many BigLaw firms relying on an increasingly obsolete marketing approach that prioritizes stiff professionalism over authentic connection, adopting a few key communications strategies to better connect with today's clients and prospects can make all the difference, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law.
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Consider 2 Alternative Exit Plans In RE Distress Scenarios
In the face of an impending wave of foreclosures, lenders and borrowers alike should consider two exit strategies — deed-in-lieu of foreclosure and consent foreclosure — that can mitigate potential costs and diminution in property value that could be incurred during a lengthy proceeding, say attorneys at BCLP.