Shaking things up in state and local tax
Shaking things up in state and local tax
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 Zachary Atkins and Douglas Mo
A California appellate court held that an ice cream maker’s property tax appeal involving an alleged failure to make an external obsolescence adjustment was subject to the “substantial evidence” standard of review. The taxpayer asserted that certain production equipment used in its novelty product lines was underutilized as a…
We invite you to read all of our articles from May 2013 here on our website, or read each article by clicking on the title. If you prefer, you may also view a printable PDF version.
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By Shane Lord and Andrew Appleby
The California Superior Court ruled that certain special purpose entities (SPEs) owned by Harley-Davidson, Inc. had nexus in California. The taxpayer formed the SPEs as securitization subsidiaries, which the court held were subject to California income taxation because the SPEs: (1) were “financial corporations” under California law; and (2)…
By Douglas Mo
The California Court of Appeal ruled that the County of Los Angeles illegally assessed the possessory interest of the lessee of a building owned by the California State Teachers’ Retirement System. The possessory interest was valued pursuant to a special statute that only applied to property owned by a state public retirement…
By Sahang-Hee Hahn and Pilar Mata
The California Supreme Court held that taxpayers may file a class action lawsuit to claim a refund of local telephone user taxes (TUT) paid to the City of Long Beach. The taxpayer class alleged that the City unlawfully collected the TUT on services that were determined to be nontaxable…
We invite you to read all of our articles from April 2013 here on our website, or read each article by clicking on the title. If you prefer, you may also view a printable PDF version.
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By Saabir Kapoor and Pilar Mata
The California Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s decision in favor of the State Board of Equalization (BOE), holding that a taxpayer’s evidence of communications with the BOE presented triable issues of material fact as to whether the BOE should be equitably estopped from relying on administrative exhaustion…
Retailers and banks continue to get whipsawed on sales tax bad debt deductions where a retailer provides a private label credit card program in conjunction with a third party bank. The Kentucky Board of Tax Appeals ruled that a retailer was not entitled to a bad debt deduction because it was not the party that…
On December 18, 2012, the California Court of Appeal ruled that receipts from the right to replicate software are sourced as sales “other than tangible personal property.” In reversing the trial court, the Court of Appeal upheld the taxpayer’s use of costs of performance sourcing. Microsoft Corporation v. Franchise Tax Board, Case No. A131964…
