Shaking things up in state and local tax
Shaking things up in state and local tax
By Shane Lord and Andrew Appleby
The Indiana Department of State Revenue issued a Letter of Findings concluding that a taxpayer’s sales of tangible personal property from Indiana to foreign countries were attributable to Indiana for income tax purposes because the taxpayer did not show that its activities in the foreign countries exceeded the protections…
In this edition of A Pinch of SALT, Jeff Friedman, Pilar Mata and Mary Alexander examine the requirements and ramifications of states’ attempts to apply prospective-only remedies to unconstitutional taxes and explore why Maryland State Comptroller of the Treasury v. Wynne is not an appropriate case for prospective-only relief.
Read “Wynne-ing Isn’t …
By David Pope and Timothy Gustafson
Pursuant to a letter ruling request, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue determined that a taxpayer’s bundled sale of software and services related to Internet-based marketing and customer communications solutions was subject to Massachusetts sales tax. The taxpayer provided different types of software to its subscribers, which organized customer reviews, questions…
By Zachary Atkins and Pilar Mata
The Colorado Department of Revenue issued a private letter ruling permitting a financial institution to deviate from Colorado’s special industry rules and use an alternative method of apportionment for corporate income tax purposes. The taxpayer, a savings and loan holding company with subsidiaries separately engaged in broker-dealer and banking…
By Saabir Kapoor and Andrew Appleby
The Colorado Department of Revenue (Department) determined that sales tax does not apply to a subscription fee for an interactive stock screening service. The taxpayer, a financial news and research organization, offered proprietary web-based stock screening tools to customers for a monthly subscription fee. To determine whether the subscription…
We are pleased to provide the following updates on state tax issues impacting the digital economy. The Sutherland SALT Team will continue to monitor these and other Digital Economy developments. Please visit the Sutherland SALT Digital Economy Forum to learn more, and please contact one of us if you have questions regarding the Forum.
Texas…
By Madison Barnett and Prentiss Willson
The Florida Department of Revenue, adopting a recommended order of the Division of Administrative Hearings, ruled that a Georgia-based heavy equipment dealer had substantial nexus in Florida based on its delivery of equipment in company-owned trucks and its advertising in a Florida trade publication. The company’s contacts with Florida…
By Jessica Kerner and Timothy Gustafson
The Georgia Court of Appeals dismissed a customer class action lawsuit seeking a sales tax refund from a utility company, holding that the applicable statutory provisions for claiming a refund of sales taxes did not authorize the customers to bring a direct refund cause of action against the seller.
By Saabir Kapoor and Pilar Mata
The California Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s decision in favor of the State Board of Equalization (BOE), holding that a taxpayer’s evidence of communications with the BOE presented triable issues of material fact as to whether the BOE should be equitably estopped from relying on administrative exhaustion…
By Suzanne Palms and Andrew Appleby
The Michigan Court of Appeals held that a taxpayer was not liable for additional single business tax (SBT) and use tax because the taxpayer was making sales of tangible personal property at its Michigan facility rather than performing a service. The taxpayer’s business activities at issue consisted of…
