Click here to read our October 2014 posts on stateandlocaltax.com or read each article by clicking on the title. To read our commentary on the latest state and local tax developments as they are published, be sure to download the Sutherland SALT Shaker mobile app.

• Illinois Allows Intermediate Carrier to Source International Telecommunications Receipts Based on Its Property Factor
  The Illinois Department of Revenue determined that a wholesale distributor of international telecommunications services could source its long-distance telephone receipts based on its Illinois property factor.
• SALT Pet of the Month: Benson
  Meet Benson, the handsome three-year-old chocolate lab belonging to Stephen DiGennaro, Sutherland’s Marketing Technology Manager and one of the creators of the Sutherland SALT Shaker app. 
• Buying a Bit – Purchases of Bitcoins Are Not Subject to Sales Tax in Missouri
  The Missouri Department of Revenue determined in a letter ruling that Bitcoins are intangible property not subject to tax under Missouri’s Sales and Use Tax Law. As explained by the taxpayer, Bitcoins are “a form of digital currency that is created by software and stored electronically.”
• Sutherland SALT Team Continues Growth in New York with Addition of Open Weaver Banks
  We are pleased to announce that Open Weaver Banks has joined the firm’s State and Local Tax (SALT) practice as counsel in New York. Prior to joining Sutherland, Open was of counsel at Morrison & Foerster LLP. 
• Access Denied: Pennsylvania Rules Company Not Entitled to Its Own Tax Records
  The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records (OOR) determined that the City of Philadelphia Department of Revenue (City) was not required to provide use and occupancy tax forms and documentation in the City’s possession relating to alleged unpaid use and occupancy taxes in response to a company’s request under Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law (RTKL). 
• Lighting Up Dark Fiber: Washington Turns on Retail Sales Tax for Dark Fiber
  The Washington State Department of Revenue determined that a telecommunications company’s leases of dark fiber were competitive telephone services and thus subject to retail sales tax.