The New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division upheld the application of New Jersey’s 2020 amendment to its royalty addback regulation retroactively to tax years prior to the regulation’s amendment. In 2020, New Jersey amended its regulation (N.J. Admin. Code § 18:7-5.18) to delete geographical limitations in the addback exception for royalty payments made to a related member because – as the Tax Court ruled – the pre-amendment language violated external consistency and the dormant commerce clause. The taxpayer argued that because the pre-amendment regulation was unconstitutional, it should not apply to allow the denial of its refund claims for pre-2020 tax years. The court rejected the taxpayer’s argument, finding that the 2020 amendment regulation cured the constitutional problems, and the cured regulation could be applied to the pre-amendment tax years. The court noted that the New Jersey Supreme Court has recognized an exception to the general rule against retroactive laws when a retroactive change to a regulation is “ameliorative or curative.” Accordingly, the court upheld the retroactive application of the cured regulation to pre-amendment tax years and upheld the denial of taxpayer’s refund claims based on that regulation.

Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Dir., Div. of Tax’n, No. A-0595-23, 2025 WL 1226968 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Apr. 29, 2025).

Calling all trivia fans! Don’t miss out on a chance to show off your SALT knowledge!

We will award a prize for the smartest (and fastest) participant.

This week’s question: What type of income is now eligible for a personal income tax deduction in Missouri?

E-mail your response to SALTonline@eversheds-sutherland.com.

The prize for the first response to today’s question is a $25 UBER Eats gift card. This week’s answer will be included in our SALT Shaker Weekly Digest, distributed on Saturday. Be sure to check back then!

Calling all trivia fans! Don’t miss out on a chance to show off your SALT knowledge!

We will award a prize for the smartest (and fastest) participant.

This week’s question: Which state recently modified the apportionment formula for banks and financial institutions from a three-factor formula to a single sales factor formula for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2025?

E-mail your response to SALTonline@eversheds-sutherland.com.

The prize for the first response to today’s question is a $25 UBER Eats gift card. This week’s answer will be included in our SALT Shaker Weekly Digest, distributed on Saturday. Be sure to check back then!

Yesterday, the Comptroller of Maryland issued Technical Bulletin No. 59, laying out its position on the Digital Advertising Gross Revenues (ominously abbreviated as “DAGR”) tax base. As the DAGR took effect in January 2022, this guidance is not exactly timely. 

Much of Bulletin No. 59 is devoted to the Comptroller’s view of taxability. A Maryland statute defines taxable “digital advertising services” as:

“[A]dvertisement services on a digital interface, including advertisements in the form of banner advertising, search engine advertising, interstitial advertising, and other comparable advertising services.”
Md. Code Ann., Tax-Gen. § 7.5-101(e)(1).

According to the Comptroller, to be taxable, advertisements must be in a “digital” (i.e., binary digits) format but not necessarily delivered over the Internet. The Comptroller also simultaneously limits the DAGR’s scope, adding two additional criteria for taxable digital advertising receipts: they must be both: (1) programmatic; and (2) conveyed visually. The Comptroller defines the “programmatic” attribute of digital advertising as follows:

“The programmatic attribute of digital advertising refers to the capacity to automate advertising services. Digital advertising is automated, in that it is performed by employing technology that uses computer- or software-driven workflow or machine learning algorithms to deliver advertisements to audiences based on advertiser-defined parameters.”

Thus, non-programmatic advertising services – even if otherwise digital – are not taxable. And, digital advertisements that are “conveyed in a purely audio format” are also not taxable.

As noted above, the timing of Bulletin No. 59 is interesting as the Maryland Tax Court will hear challenges to the DAGR later this month. 

Calling all trivia fans! Don’t miss out on a chance to show off your SALT knowledge!

We will award a prize for the smartest (and fastest) participant.

This week’s question: Which state recently enacted legislation adding streaming services to its list of services subject to the sales tax?

E-mail your response to SALTonline@eversheds-sutherland.com.

The prize for the first response to today’s question is a $25 UBER Eats gift card. This week’s answer will be included in our SALT Shaker Weekly Digest, distributed on Saturday. Be sure to check back then!

Meet Barclay, our July SALT Pet of the Month! This beloved 10-year-old Goldendoodle has been a devoted companion to Marilyn Wethekam, Of Counsel at the Council On State Taxation (COST), since he was just 8 weeks old.

His name is a clever nod to the US Supreme Court case Barclays Bank v. Franchise Tax Board, a fitting tribute in a SALT household!

Barclay is a true foodie, especially fond of anything his humans are enjoying. Cheese is a particular favorite! Mornings are reserved for long walks, his favorite daily activity. Besides that, he loves lounging on the couch or curling up in a welcoming lap and watching the Chicago Bears.

With his warm personality, Barclay is a welcome addition to our SALT Pet of the Month family!

Beginning in 2026, Georgia will have a new judicial branch tax court, replacing the existing Georgia Tax Tribunal, which currently operates within the executive branch.

In this installment of “A Pinch of SALT” published in Tax Notes State, Eversheds Sutherland attorneys Jonathan Feldman, Scott Wright, and Alla Raykin outline the benefits the new Georgia Tax Court offers taxpayers, as well as the laws that will govern the new court.

Most significantly, the new Georgia Tax Court is designed to preserve the benefits of the former tax tribunal while introducing a more streamlined appeals process. The new Georgia Tax Court process guarantees taxpayers a direct appeal to a Georgia appellate court, bypassing the Fulton County Superior Court and the subsequent discretionary appeal process.

Read the full article here.

SALT Partner Jeff Friedman is looking forward to speaking during the 2025 Southeastern Association of Tax Administrators (SEATA) Annual Meeting, held in Charleston, WV. His panel will cover significant, unusual and interesting SALT cases and developments.

Find out more and register here.

Calling all trivia fans! Don’t miss out on a chance to show off your SALT knowledge!

We will award a prize for the smartest (and fastest) participant.

This week’s question: By what percentage did Louisiana lawmakers vote to increase the state tax rate on online sports betting?

E-mail your response to SALTonline@eversheds-sutherland.com.

The prize for the first response to today’s question is a $25 UBER Eats gift card. This week’s answer will be included in our SALT Shaker Weekly Digest, distributed on Saturday. Be sure to check back then!

Calling all trivia fans! Don’t miss out on a chance to show off your SALT knowledge!

We will award a prize for the smartest (and fastest) participant.

This week’s question: Which recently-signed bill in Iowa expanded property tax and sales and use tax breaks for data centers to include leased facilities?

E-mail your response to SALTonline@eversheds-sutherland.com.

The prize for the first response to today’s question is a $25 UBER Eats gift card. This week’s answer will be included in our SALT Shaker Weekly Digest, distributed on Saturday. Be sure to check back then!