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The Texas Comptroller adopted a proposed decision issued by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) finding that a company owed sales tax on its sales of online gaming services to Texas residents. The company, who had at least one employee in Texas, developed and maintained online interactive social gaming experiences for its registered users, including those…

The court held that the taxpayer, a freight broker, could deduct freight and delivery charges, which it received from its customers and remitted to third-party delivery providers, from gross receipts before calculating a city’s business privilege tax. A local regulation provides an exemption for freight delivery or transportation charges “paid by the seller for the…

Consistent with a prior decision of a sister appellate court, Texas’ Texarkana Court of Appeals held that the sale of telecommunication products and signals constitutes the sale of a service for purposes of Texas’ franchise tax. The taxpayer sold electrical, light and radio signals to customers through copper wire, fiber-optic cable and leased telephone lines.…

The Montana Supreme Court held that the Department erred in determining that Exxon Mobil was entitled to only an 80% exclusion for dividends received from domestic corporations excluded from the water’s-edge combined return, and concluded that 100% of the actual dividends it received from such entities are excluded from income. Pursuant to Montana statute, Exxon…

The New York Appellate Division ruled that telecommunication companies’ fiber optic cables do not qualify for a property tax exemption for such property that transmits radio and television signals. (New York Real Property Tax Law, §102(12)(i)(D).) The New York Court of Appeals had previously ruled in T-Mobile Northeast LLC v. DeBellis (December 13, 2018) that…

The Tennessee Court of Appeals held that a commercial printing company’s sales of bank checks and other printed products were subject to Tennessee sales tax even though the products ultimately were sent to out-of-state destinations. Under the company’s standard sales contracts, title to the products it sold transferred in Tennessee when the company tendered its…

On April 10, 2019, the Utah Tax Commission issued a private letter ruling to a video streaming provider (“Taxpayer”) finding that the Taxpayer’s sales of subscriptions entitling subscribers to enhanced features on the Taxpayer’s streaming platform, are not subject to sales and use tax. On its internet-based platform, the Taxpayer provides a video streaming service…

This is the second quarter edition of the Eversheds Sutherland SALT Scoreboard for 2019. Since 2016, we have tallied the results of what we deem to be significant taxpayer wins and losses and analyzed those results. This edition of the SALT Scoreboard includes a discussion of the United States Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Kaestner…

On June 14, 2019, an Illinois Appellate Court held that a taxpayer’s subsidiaries are financial organizations that were excluded from the taxpayer’s Illinois combined return. During 2006, 2007 and 2008, Illinois excluded from a combined return those affiliates that apply a different apportionment method. (Note that, for taxable years ending on or after December 31,…