Click here to read our August 2013 posts on stateandlocaltax.com or read each article by clicking on the title. If you prefer, you may also read a printable PDF version.
Meet Annie, the lovable, six-year-old Sheltie of Sutherland’s Managing Partner, Mark Wasserman and his wife, Rebekah. After years of begging, Mark and Rebekah finally gave in and got Annie for their sons, who promised to always feed and take care of her. And while that may not have turned out to be true, the Wassermans
By Saabir Kapoor and Timothy Gustafson
The California Court of Appeal, in affirming summary judgment in favor of the City of Los Angeles, concluded that the taxpayer, j2 Global Communications, Inc., did not produce evidence to demonstrate that its purchase of telecommunications services was exempt from the City’s communication users tax (CUT) under the Internet
By Todd Betor and Andrew Appleby
The Indiana Department of Revenue issued a Letter of Findings denying a taxpayer’s deductions for certain intercompany payments to a subsidiary management company. The taxpayer and its subsidiary management company (Management Co.) entered into an intercompany agreement based on a federal income tax transfer pricing study, which endorsed the
By Nicole Boutros and Pilar Mata
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit determined that dial-up internet services were taxable local telephone services when analyzing an Internal Revenue Service bankruptcy claim for federal excise taxes (FET). The taxpayer, WorldCom, Inc., purchased central-office-based remote access (COBRA) services from local telephone companies to provide internet
In its unanimous decision in Elk Hills Power, LLC v. Board of Equalization, the California Supreme Court held that the California State Board of Equalization may not assess the value of intangible Emission Reduction Credits when valuing taxable power plant property. The decision makes clear that property taxation of virtually all intangible assets is
By Zachary Atkins and Andrew Appleby
An Arizona Department of Revenue hearing officer determined that the gross receipts from a taxpayer’s deemed asset sale pursuant to I.R.C. § 338(h)(10), including gross receipts attributable to goodwill, could not be included in the taxpayer’s sales factor for corporate income tax apportionment purposes. The taxpayer asserted that goodwill
By Shane Lord and Prentiss Willson
The Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission held that a telephone company’s interest income received from its parent company was passive, non-Missouri source income and thus excludible from apportionable income as nonbusiness income. The interest income at issue was related to a note between the taxpayer and its parent company pursuant
By Sahang-Hee Hahn and Timothy Gustafson
On July 24, 2013, the Massachusetts Legislature passed the Transportation Finance Bill (H.B. 3535) over Governor Patrick’s veto, implementing three key changes to Massachusetts’ state tax system. To begin, the new legislation requires the use of a market-based sourcing method for sales of intangibles in computing
