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The Colorado Department of Revenue has determined that an information technology provider’s sale of its backup service, which allowed its customers to back up business applications, files, and systems, and also included the delivery of computer servers to customers’ locations, constituted a nontaxable service.  Although the Department “considered whether the placement of [the] servers constitut[ed]…

The New York Division of Tax Appeals (DTA) recently issued order that highlights the unique discovery rules that apply in the litigation of New York tax matters. These rules differ substantially from other states that offer more expansive discovery options when taxpayers appeal state tax assessments or denials of refund claims.

On Sept. 3, 2020…

The New Jersey Superior Court reversed the New Jersey Tax Court and held that an individual taxpayer was permitted to carry forward losses from a partnership incurred in 2009 to reduce the individual’s distributive share of the partnership’s income in 2010.  The Court explained that, pursuant to IRC § 465, a partner in a partnership…

The Michigan Supreme Court held that sales of bottle and can recycling machines that help retailers comply with Michigan’s bottle-deposit law may qualify for the state’s sales and use tax exemption applicable to machinery used in an industrial-processing activity.  The Michigan Department of Treasury unsuccessfully argued that the machines may not qualify for the exemption…

The Texas Court of Appeals held that the trial court did not have jurisdiction over a taxpayer’s sales and use tax refund claim because the taxpayer failed to properly state the grounds for the refund claim.  The Texas Tax Code requires that a refund claim: (1) be written, (2) “state fully and in detail each…

On September 29, 2020, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed S.B. 972, the controversial taxpayer disclosure bill that would have required the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to provide the Legislature annually with the names, tax liabilities, and tax credits claimed by corporate taxpayers that meet a $5 billion gross receipts threshold.

S.B. 972 proposed…

In Opinion No. 20190925, the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration explained how the state would tax a proposed online peer-to-peer vehicle sharing platform. The opinion noted that the peer-to-peer platform in question would be considered a marketplace facilitator and discussed how local taxes will be sourced. But the Department declined to opine on…

Mississippi Notice 72-20-09 provides additional guidance on Mississippi’s marketplace facilitator law, which took effect on July 1, 2020. The Notice explains that a sale facilitated and delivered by a third-party food delivery service is not a “retail sale” by the facilitator. Rather, the restaurant will charge sales tax on the selling price it charged for…

The Minnesota Supreme Court held that the gain from a corporation’s sale of its majority interest in a limited liability company (LLC) was apportionable business income subject to Minnesota corporate income tax. The Court explained that the corporation conducted its business through operating subsidiaries that were owned by the LLC, and that the corporation and…

On September 9, US Congressmen Dan Kildee (D-MI) and Ron Estes (R-KS) introduced a House Resolution condemning foreign digital services taxes. H.Res. 1097 expresses “strong opposition to the imposition of digital services taxes by other countries that discriminate against United States companies” and called “on all other countries to cease and desist from implementing any…