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A California Court of Appeal found that because the taxpayer did not file proper notice with the California Board of Equalization (BOE), the limitation on the number of years the county assessor can levy retroactive escape assessments did not apply. The taxpayer’s 2006 merger constituted a change in ownership triggering reporting requirements to the BOE.  …

On September, 9, 2020, the New Jersey Appellate Division ruled against the taxpayer in Preserve II, Inc. v. Director, Div. of Taxation, No. A-1331-17T3. On its face, the decision looks like a disappointing taxpayer loss because the court upheld the determination that a corporation was subject to the New Jersey Corporation Business Tax (CBT)…

On September 9, 2020, the California Supreme Court denied review of the opinion of the First District Court of Appeal in City and County of San Francisco v. All Persons Interested in the Matter of Proposition C, which held a voter-initiated local special tax may pass with only a simple majority.  With appeals currently…

Eversheds Sutherland has filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the 550 members of the Council On State Taxation (COST) on the important issue of whether imposition of certain local special taxes in California requires a two-thirds vote by the California electorate, or a simple majority. City of Fresno v. Fresno Building Healthy Communities…

On August 18, 2020, the New York Supreme Court, Albany County, held that there was no rational basis for New York’s imposition of sales tax on storage services performed in New Jersey that occurred subsequent to the initial sale and pickup of items in New York. The taxpayer, a New Jersey corporation, operated corporate records…

Several California localities filed a complaint alleging that PG&E willfully miscalculated the electricity user’s tax (“Electricity Tax”) causing harm to the cities, their employees and public services. California cities and counties impose Electricity Tax on a percentage of charges for electricity used within the city. For example, the City of Sacramento imposes an Electricity Tax…

The Nebraska Supreme Court held that a telecommunications construction company was liable for sales taxes on both its purchases of construction materials to build telecommunications infrastructure and for its subsequent sales of services installing and constructing the same telecommunications property.

Nebraska law requires a construction contractor to make an election as to whether it will…

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a rail carrier’s authority to challenge the Oregon Department of Revenue’s taxation of its “accounting goodwill” pursuant to the federal Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act, commonly referred to as the 4-R Act.

Oregon imposes tax on real and tangible personal property located in the…

On Aug. 6, the New York Tax Appeals Tribunal held that royalties received from a foreign affiliate are taxable and are not subject to New York’s royalty income exclusion provision under former Tax Law § 208(9)(o)(3).

Prior to its amendment, Tax Law § 208(9)(o)(3) provided for a deduction for royalties received from a related member…

Arizona’s Supreme Court unanimously held that the city of Phoenix’s fee increase on ride-sharing trips at airports are not “transaction-based” fees and therefore constitutional. In 2016, Phoenix’s City Council had amended its City Code to require commercial ground transportation providers to pay a “trip fee” each time drivers picked up passengers from the Phoenix Sky…