Eversheds Sutherland SALT releases the seventh edition of its SALT Scoreboard, a quarterly publication that tracks significant state tax litigation and controversy developments. This edition of the SALT Scoreboard highlights developments regarding the sales taxation of drop shipments and the inclusion of entities in a combined report. Also included is a Spotlight on cases involving the United States
Noteworthy Cases
Sixth Circuit Rejects a Narrow Reading of TIA to Deny Religious Nonprofit Federal Remedy
By Alla Raykin and Charlie Kearns
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the Tax Injunction Act (TIA) barred a religious nonprofit from bringing a federal suit over Tennessee’s denial of a retroactive property tax exemption. In Islamic Ctr. of Nashville v. Tennessee, the Islamic Center of Nashville sought…
New York State Tax Appeals Tribunal: Assessment of Non-Admitted Alien Insurance Companies Violated Tax Treaty and Foreign Commerce Clause
By Huy “Mike” Le and Andrew Appleby
The New York State Tax Appeals Tribunal (Tribunal) held that the Department’s assessment of two non-admitted German insurance companies violated the United States-Germany Tax Treaty’s anti-discrimination clause and the US Constitution’s Foreign Commerce Clause.
The alien non-admitted non-life insurance companies had no premiums from sources in the United…
Delaware Sewer and Water Authority Successfully Challenges Permit “Fee” as Disguised Tax
By Mike Kerman and Jonathan Feldman
The Delaware Chancery Court held that a town’s $27,000 building permit “fee” was in substance a tax that could not be levied against a tax-exempt water and sewer authority. The town assessed the fee upon the water and sewer authority before it would issue a permit to construct a…
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Holds Taxation of Drop Shipments Is Constitutional
By Charles Capouet and Jonathan Feldman
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that an in-state wholesaler was required to collect and remit sales tax on drop shipment sales made to Massachusetts customers. A drop shipment is a transaction in which an in-state customer purchases a product from an out-of-state retailer which then orders the product…
North Carolina Supreme Court Determines that Bank’s Market Discount Income Is Not Deductible as Interest
By Liz Cha and Open Weaver Banks
The North Carolina Supreme Court affirmed the North Carolina Business Court’s decision that Fidelity Bank was precluded from deducting “market discount income” from US bonds for North Carolina corporate income tax purposes. Fidelity Bank acquired US government bonds at a discount, held these bonds until maturity, and earned…
Just Trust Us, It’s Right! – Alabama Tax Tribunal Finds Taxpayer Cannot Prove Interest Expense Exempt from Addback Without Evidence
By Chelsea Marmor and Charlie Kearns
The Alabama Tax Tribunal (Tribunal) affirmed the Alabama Department of Revenue’s (DOR) assessment that denied Credit Suisse Boston USA Inc.’s (Credit Suisse) deduction for interest expense paid to a related member. Credit Suisse argued that the interest expense payments were exempt from Alabama’s addback requirement because the expense to…
South Carolina Court of Appeals Sends Taxpayers Clear Signal; Rules DIRECTV Must Source Receipts Based on Satellite Signal Delivery
By Dmitrii Gabrielov and Tim Gustafson
The South Carolina Court of Appeals held that all of DIRECTV’s South Carolina customer subscription receipts were properly sourced to the state for purposes of determining DIRECTV’s corporate income tax apportionment factor due to the location of its satellite signal delivery. South Carolina’s apportionment statute requires a taxpayer to…
Blazing a Trail for More Local Taxes by Ballot Initiative
On Aug. 28, 2017, in California Cannabis Coalition v. City of Upland, the California Supreme Court held local taxes imposed by taxpayers via initiative are subject to less stringent requirements than taxes imposed by local governments pursuant to Proposition 218. In their article for Law 360, Eversheds Sutherland attorneys Eric Coffill and Robert…
Virginia Supreme Court Limits Corporate Income Tax Addback Exception
On August 31, 2017, the Virginia Supreme Court issued its opinion in Kohl’s Department Stores, Inc. v. Virginia Department of Taxation, holding that only the portion of royalties that are actually taxed by another state falls within its “subject to tax” exception to Virginia’s addback statute for corporate income tax purposes.
- The Court interpreted
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