The quarterly Eversheds Sutherland SALT Scoreboard tallies significant state and local tax litigation wins and losses. In this videocast, Charles C. Capouet and Hanish S. Patel share the second quarter highlights from the SALT Scoreboard, including a breakdown of corporate income tax and sales and use tax case results, an overview of the most significant
Noteworthy Cases
Roam Where You Want To: City of Seattle Lacks Authority to Tax Foreign Roaming Charges
By Maria Todorova and Suzanne Palms
The Washington Court of Appeals recently held that Seattle could not impose a utility tax on revenue derived from international roaming charges (charges for mobile telephone communications that originate in a foreign country). City of Seattle v. T-Mobile West Corp., No. 75423-8-1 (Wash. Ct. App. May 22, 2017)…
New York State Tax Appeals Tribunal: Payments to Captive Insurance Company Did Not Qualify as Deductible Insurance Premiums
By Andrew Appleby and Dmitrii Gabrielov
The New York State Tax Appeals Tribunal released its precedential decision in Stewart’s Shops, affirming an Administrative Law Judge’s determination that payments by a corporation to its captive insurance company did not qualify as deductible insurance premiums because the arrangement did not constitute insurance for federal income tax…
Indiana Has Quill in Its Sights
By Maria Todorova and Chris Beaudro
Effective July 1, 2017, Indiana has added an economic nexus provision to its sales tax law. Indiana Code Section 6-2.5-2-1 has been amended to provide that a retail merchant with no physical presence in Indiana must collect sales tax on its sales made into the state if the retail…
Texas Supreme Court Upholds Local Ad Valorem Tax on Stored Gas
By Jessie Eisenmenger and Jonathan Feldman
The Texas Supreme Court held that a non-discriminatory tax on stored gas held for future resale does not violate the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution. Harris County imposed an ad valorem tax on natural gas stored in the county on January 1 of the tax year. Applying the…
Marketplace Providers Are Statutorily Required to Collect Sales Tax in Minnesota and Washington
By Jeff Friedman and Stephanie Do
A new landmark sales tax statute has been adopted in Minnesota, which expands sales tax collection requirements to those retailers that sell their goods on certain “marketplaces.” Generally, only a retailer that is physically present in a state is required to collect and remit the state’s sales tax. The…
Hold the Phone! Answering Your Phone in Washington Might Cost You
By Chelsea Marmor and Open Weaver Banks
The Administrative Review and Hearings Division at the Washington Department of Revenue (the Division) determined that administrative activities qualify as business activities for purposes of applying Washington’s throw-out rule under the Washington business and occupation (B&O) tax. The taxpayer, a single member LLC, performed airplane certifications on aircraft…
Eversheds Sutherland SALT Scoreboard Publication – Second Quarter 2017
Eversheds Sutherland SALT releases the sixth edition of its SALT Scoreboard, a quarterly publication that tracks significant state tax litigation and controversy developments. This edition of the SALT Scoreboard also includes observations regarding beverage tax issues and California’s documentary transfer tax.
View our Eversheds Sutherland SALT Scoreboard results from the second quarter of 2017!
Imposing Documentary Transfer Taxes in California after Ardmore
Rarely does a subject as mundane as a documentary transfer tax become worthy of its own article. However, the June 29, 2017, decision of the California Supreme Court in 926 North Ardmore Avenue LLC v. County of Los Angeles is a worthy exception. Read this Law360 article by Eversheds Sutherland (US) attorneys Eric Coffill…
A Pinch of SALT: Taxes, Fees and “Something Else”: California’s Morning Star Decision
On April 6, the Third District California Court of Appeal decided Morning Star Packing Company v. California Air Resources Board, which challenged the state’s cap-and-trade auction process as an unconstitutional tax. View this latest edition of A Pinch of SALT, by Eversheds Sutherland (US) attorneys Eric Coffill and Robert Merten, which discusses:…



