Read our October 2017 posts on stateandlocaltax.com or read each article by clicking on the title. For the latest coverage and commentary on state and local tax developments delivered directly to your phone, download the latest version of the Eversheds Sutherland SALT Shaker app.

• SALT Pet of the Month: Louie
  Meet Louie, the handsome Maltese belonging to Sacramento SALT Associate Mike Le and his girlfriend Lai.
• DC Office of Tax and Revenue Launches New QHTC Sales and Use Tax Exemption Application/Pre-Certification Process
  On November 1, 2017, the District of Columbia will begin implementing a new sales and use tax exemption application process for Qualified High Technology Companies (QHTCs).
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court Finds Flat-Dollar NOL Cap Unconstitutional, But Upholds Percentage Cap
  On October 18, 2017, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued its decision in Nextel Communications of the Mid-Atlantic, Inc. v. Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, in which the court held that the state’s flat $3 million cap on net operating loss carryforwards violates the state constitution’s Uniformity Clause.
• Sixth Circuit Rejects a Narrow Reading of TIA to Deny Religious Nonprofit Federal Remedy
  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.

FEATURED PUBLICATIONS

• Eversheds Sutherland SALT Scoreboard Publication – Third Quarter 2017
  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 Commerce Clause.

• A Pinch of SALT: Getting to First Base with Your New Assessment
  At the conclusion of a state tax audit resulting in an assessment, one of the first questions to consider is: “How much time do we have to do something about this?” Likely, there is a reference to a deadline of some sort somewhere around the middle of page 2 of the assessment notice. Those deadlines are often 30, 60, or 90 days. In this edition of A Pinch of SALT, using baseball as a theme, Eversheds Sutherland attorneys Open Weaver Banks and Charles Capouet describe variations in state administrative appeal processes and considerations taxpayers should be aware of once they receive an assessment or similar notification from a state taxing authority.
• Don’t Get Your Hopes Up – Maryland Letter Ruling Process is Hardly a Done Deal
  In recent years, the tax community has engaged in an effort to promote transparency in tax administration. This effort culminated in Maryland with the passage of Senate Bill 843 by the 2016 General Assembly and was enacted in Chapter 582 of the Acts of 2016 (the “Act”). Included in a statute that largely addressed the evaluation process of certain tax credits are four lines that could provide Maryland taxpayers with the ability to obtain guidance through private letter rulings (“PLRs”). Specifically, the Act required the Comptroller to adopt procedures and protocols related to the implementation of a PLR process intended to provide guidance to taxpayers. The legislation was hailed in tax blogs and tax publications, such as Tax Analysts and the Council On State Taxation’s Scorecard on Tax Appeals & Procedural Requirements. In their article for the October 2017 edition of Tax Talk, Eversheds Sutherland attorneys Jessica Eisenmenger and DeAndre Morrow discuss that the kudos may have been premature, as Maryland’s 2017 legislative session has called into doubt the future prospects of the Act’s PLR process.

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