State & Local
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July 18, 2024
Ind. Tax Board Agrees With $2M Valuation Of Unfinished Home
An Indiana local assessor correctly valued an unfinished mansion at $2.2 million in 2021 and $2.4 million in 2022, a state review board determined after agreeing with the assessor's cost approach.
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July 18, 2024
Ex-Venable Trusts And Estates Partner Joins Stradling In LA
Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth PC announced that it launched a trusts and estates practice with the hiring of an experienced Los Angeles-based partner from Venable LLP.
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July 18, 2024
Pa. Eliminates Tax On At-Home Charging For EVs
Pennsylvania will eliminate the tax on electricity used to charge electric vehicles at private residences and impose an annual fee on some electric and hybrid vehicles under a bill signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro.
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July 18, 2024
Pa. To Simplify Returns Of Unclaimed Property Below $500
Pennsylvania will allow the state treasurer to automatically return unclaimed property to its verified owners when the property's value is less than $500 under a bill signed by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro.
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July 18, 2024
Mo. Commission Upholds Shopping Area's $5 Million Value
A Missouri shopping center was properly valued at $5.1 million, the state Tax Commission ruled, finding that the property owner failed to prove the value should be lowered.
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July 18, 2024
Del. Net General Revenue Receipts Up By $54M For 2024
Delaware's net receipts in the 2024 fiscal year increased by $54 million from the preceding year, according to the state's Department of Finance.
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July 18, 2024
Rising Star: Latham's Eric Kamerman
Eric Kamerman of Latham & Watkins LLP in recent years handled the tax aspects of several multibillion-dollar acquisitions of powerhouses in British soccer and American fashion, earning him recognition as one of the tax attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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July 18, 2024
Top International Tax Cases To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2024
Tax attorneys will be tracking several high-stakes cases in the second half of 2024 that could define the bounds of the IRS' ability to craft regulations or lodge direct challenges aimed at what it sees as the tax avoidance maneuvers of multinational corporations. Here, Law360 looks at key international tax cases to follow during the rest of the year.
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July 17, 2024
Mo. Tax Commission Affirms Hotels' Combined $37.6M Value
A Missouri county correctly valued three hotels at a combined $37.6 million, the state tax commission said, affirming a hearing officer's finding that an appraiser for the hotels included pandemic-related deductions that undermined the credibility of the appraisals.
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July 17, 2024
Minn. Court Says VFW Property Subject To Lower Tax Rate
A group of properties used as a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Minnesota should be subject to a lower property tax classification because they weren't used for revenue-making purposes, the state's tax court ruled.
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July 17, 2024
Mo. Property Owners' Tax Challenge Time-Barred, Court Says
A group of Missouri property owners can't proceed with their appeal of assessments they claimed were unconstitutional taxes, a state appeals court ruled, finding the challenge was time-barred as an appeal of a special assessment.
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July 17, 2024
Ore. Fishing Biz Income Cut, Tax Deductions Raised By Court
Owners of a commercial fishing and boat fabrication business in Oregon are permitted adjustments to their 2018 income and expense deductions, the state tax court said, allowing a deduction for boat depreciation and some per diem expenses.
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July 17, 2024
Dividends Wrongly Included, Water Utility Tells NJ Tax Court
A water services company operating in New Jersey told the state's tax court that the Division of Taxation erred in denying its attempt to exclude $25 million in intercompany dividends for tax years 2017 and 2018, because the amounts were wrongly included in its federal returns.
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July 17, 2024
Disney To Join IBM's Bid To Bring NY Tax Fight To Justices
The Walt Disney Co. joined IBM in asking the U.S. Supreme Court for more time to file a petition for review of a New York high court decision that upheld tax on royalties received from foreign affiliates.
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July 17, 2024
SC Golf Club Dues Are Tax Exempt, Dept. Clarifies
South Carolina's 5% amusement tax doesn't apply to monthly and annual membership dues paid to golf clubs, the state's Department of Revenue clarified in an opinion.
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July 17, 2024
Connell Foley Adds Wilson Elser Tax Pro In Group Upgrade
Connell Foley LLP strengthened its tax and estate team this week with the promotion of several attorneys up to partner and the addition of a mergers and acquisitions and corporate restructuring tax expert previously of counsel at Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP.
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July 17, 2024
Ohio Board Lowers Value Of Kohl's Property By $800K
The Ohio Board of Tax Appeals lowered the appraised value of a Kohl's property Wednesday by roughly $822,000, saying a county appraiser wrongly concluded that the property's highest and best use would be for use by a national company.
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July 17, 2024
Miss. Revenue Up $56M From Last Fiscal Year
Mississippi revenue collection in the 2024 fiscal year was up $56 million from the previous fiscal year, according to the state Department of Revenue.
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July 17, 2024
Ark. Extends Some Tax Deadlines Following Severe Storms
Arkansas will extend some tax filing and payment deadlines for those affected by severe storms, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.
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July 17, 2024
The Tax Angle: Child Care, Medical Debt, Small Biz Relief
As talks take place on Capitol Hill over the impact the expiration of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will have on small businesses and child care, here's a peek into a reporter's notebook on a few developing tax stories.
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July 17, 2024
Wayfair, Colo. City Agree To Dismiss Sales Tax Suit
Wayfair and a Colorado city have agreed to end a suit by the home furnishings retailer over past sales taxes, stipulating a dismissal of all claims between the parties in state district court.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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Geothermal Energy Has Growing Potential In The US
Bipartisan support for the geothermal industry shows that geothermal energy can be an elegant solution toward global decarbonization efforts because of its small footprint, low supply chain risk, and potential to draw on the skills of existing highly specialized oil and gas workers and renewable specialists, say attorneys at Weil.
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Bad Ideas That Won't Go Away: SALT In Review
From California's latest move toward a digital ad tax to Kansas' proposed tax credits for film production, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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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.