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When a company undertakes a financing transaction, federal and state income tax considerations most frequently take priority in the tax department. In certain financing transactions, however, one would be remiss to ignore potential sales tax issues that can be traps for the unwary.

Reprinted from the Journal of Multistate Taxation and Incentives (Thomson Reuters/Tax &…

By Samantha Trencs and Andrew Appleby

A South Carolina administrative law judge (ALJ) determined that cell phone insurance is not subject to South Carolina sales tax even though the wireless provider sells it with taxable communication services.

Alltel provided its wireless customers with an option to purchase insurance for the loss, theft or damage to…

By Liz Cha and Timothy Gustafson

In its first decision on combined unitary reporting since Vermont adopted combined reporting in 2006, the Vermont Supreme Court held that the AIG insurance group was not unitary with its wholly owned ski resort subsidiary, Stowe Mountain Resort. Applying the U.S. Supreme Court’s test for unity articulated in Mobil…

By Zachary Atkins & Prentiss Willson

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) refused to allow a taxpayer, a financial institution, to assign its loan portfolios based on the location of third-party loan servicing activities for purposes of calculating its financial institution excise tax property factor. The taxpayer earned flow-through interest income through its residual beneficial…

By Stephen Burroughs and Andrew Appleby 

A Vermont Superior Court held that the Commissioner of Taxes unconstitutionally applied the unitary business principle to AIG and its subsidiary, Stowe Mountain Resort. Stowe operates a ski resort, lodging and conference business in Vermont. None of AIG’s other 700 subsidiaries resemble a ski resort, and the Commissioner…

The New York State Governor and Legislature recently enacted the 2014-2015 New York State Budget, Senate Bill 6359-D and Assembly Bill 8559-D (Budget), which results in the most significant overhaul of New York’s franchise tax on corporations in decades. In this edition of New York Tax Reform Made Easy, we will address the changes made to apportionment sourcing in computing a taxpayer’s apportionment factor.

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The Sutherland SALT Team will release commentary on the revamped New York State corporate tax system that was reformed as part of the recently enacted Budget Legislation (“Budget”). By way of background, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the tax provisions of the Budget on March 31. The changes will affect nearly every New York…

By Todd Betor and Andrew Appleby

The Chief Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) of the New York City Tax Appeals Tribunal ruled that The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., may source its receipts from Standard & Poor’s (S&P) public credit rating business using an audience-based method. The ALJ first determined that S&P’s ratings receipts are “other business receipts&rdquo…