On remand from the Ohio Supreme Court, the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) applied the true object test to determine whether charges paid by Cincinnati Federal Savings & Loan (Cincinnati Federal) to Fiserv constituted taxable automatic data processing (ADP) and electric information services (EIS), or nontaxable professional services. The Ohio Supreme Court had previously affirmed the BTA’s conclusion that Cincinnati Federal failed to prove it purchased nontaxable accounting services and directed the BTA to conduct a true object analysis.

Fiserv provided Cincinnati Federal with live access to an automated general ledger that tracked all transactional activity in real time. The system was fully automated and self‑correcting, with no cognitive review or analysis by Fiserv employees. Cincinnati Federal sought a refund of sales tax, arguing the true object of the transactions was to obtain professional services. The BTA rejected this position, concluding that the true object of the transaction was to obtain ADP and EIS.

Cincinnati Fed. Sav. & Loan v. Harris, Tax Comm’r of Ohio, No. 2018‑2247 (Ohio Tax Comm’r May 11, 2026).

The SALT team is gearing up for a busy week on the conference circuit, with attorneys presenting at TEI and COST programs across the country.

Tax Executives Institute (TEI) Region 9 Conference

We’re looking forward to TEI’s 2026 Region 9 Conference in Monterey, CA! On May 19, Partners Michele Borens and Jeff Friedman will present “Navigating the SALT Seas.”

For more information and to register, click here.  

Council On State Taxation (COST) 2026 Intermediate/Advanced State Income Tax School

In addition, Partners Tim Gustafson and Scott Wright look forward to joining COST’s 2026 Intermediate/Advanced State Income Tax School.

They will present “The Corporate Income Tax Base and Advanced Domestic State Adjustments,” focusing on key state tax adjustments and their practical application in a corporate environment.

Find out more information and register here.

COST’s 2026 Intermediate/Advanced Sales & Use Tax School.

Partner Jonathan Feldman will join the speaker lineup during COST’s 2026 Intermediate/Advanced Sales & Use Tax School.

In his session, “Manufacturing/Construction Sales and Use Tax Issues,” Jonathan will explore the nuanced differences in the states’ laws in how they determine what constitutes “manufacturing” and what is taxable in a “construction contract.”

Find out more and register here.

TEI Denver Chapter 2026 SALT Day

On May 20, SALT attorneys Michele Borens, Jeff Friedman, Tim Gustafson and Cyavash Ahmadi are pleased to present at the TEI Denver Chapter‘s 2026 SALT Day.

Speakers and topics include:

  • Michele Borens and Jeff Friedman – Litigation Update
  • Tim Gustafson and Cyavash Ahmadi – California / New York Review
  • Jeff Friedman and Tim Gustafson – Stuck with the Tab: Billing 3rd Party Services
  • Michele Borens and Cyavash Ahmadi – Legislative Outlook

TEI’s Virtual State and Local Tax (SALT) Essentials Course

Finally, on May 21, SALT Partners Todd Betor and Jeff Friedman are pleased to present the concluding session of TEI’s Virtual State and Local Tax (SALT) Essentials Course. Their session will review SALT audit and appeals processes and discuss emerging issues affecting state taxation.

Learn more and register here.

In this episode of the SALT Shaker Podcast, Partners Jeremy Gove and Chelsea Marmor introduce federal preemption and how the Supremacy Clause limits state taxing authority. When federal and state laws conflict, federal law controls, requiring state law to give way.

Jeremy and Chelsea outline the two types of preemption: express and implied.

Drawing on examples from technology, services, and digital advertising taxes, the discussion highlights the continued importance, and active litigation, surrounding preemption in the SALT space. You can follow along with the discussion using Congress’s “preemption taxonomy” chart, linked here.

The episode concludes with a brief overrated/underrated debate on the Oxford comma.

For questions or comments, email SALTonline@eversheds-sutherland.com. Subscribe to receive regular updates hosted on the SALT Shaker blog.

Listen now:

Subscribe for more:

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: The Texas Supreme Court recently ruled that a company’s oral nicotine products are subject to what specialized tax?

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

The prize for the first correct 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!

This month, we’re excited to feature Sam, the adventurous desert tortoise belonging to Nicole Kahn, Indirect Tax Manager at Zoom.

Sam joined Nicole’s family about three years ago after being inherited from her grandfather. Originally short for “Samuel,” the name shifted to Samantha after Sam started laying eggs – an unexpected reveal. Now estimated to be 65–70 years old and about the size of a soccer ball, Sam is believed to be a Sulcata tortoise.

By day, Sam enjoys sunbathing in the grass and snacking on leafy greens, with a particular love for banana and melon. But her true specialty? Escaping the backyard. Despite having only three legs, she’s made several creative breakouts, including one early adventure that ended seven houses down at a neighbor’s lawn.

One fun fact: tortoises hibernate for part of the year, and in Nicole’s experience, Sam settles in from December through February.

Between her escape artistry, impressive speed, and quirky personality, Sam proves that even the slowest pets can keep you on your toes! Welcome to the SALT Pet of the Month family, Sam!

In this installment of “A Pinch of SALT,” published by Tax Notes State, Partner Charlie Kearns examines Washington’s newly enacted “millionaire’s tax,” which takes effect in 2028 with returns due in 2029. The law imposes a 9.9% tax on Washington taxable income above $1 million, and introduces rules around residency, sourcing of income, and tax base calculations.

The article highlights key planning considerations, including the treatment of multistate income, limitations on the standard deduction, and potential traps for nonresidents working in Washington, underscoring the need for proactive planning as the regime takes effect.

Read the full article here.

The Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board (ATB) held that an auto body repair shop owed sales tax on the full receipts from its repair services because it failed to separately state nontaxable labor charges from taxable tangible personal property costs, notwithstanding that the shop itself paid sales tax when purchasing the tangible personal property incorporated into repaired vehicles. The Department of Revenue issued the taxpayer a double tax assessment under G.L. c. 62C, § 28 based on the taxpayer’s failure to timely file returns after receiving a notice to register and file, its submission of “zero” sales tax returns, and its refusal to amend those returns after receiving a notice of incorrect or insufficient return. The ATB upheld the assessment of sales tax on the full repair charges but abated the double tax penalty finding that the taxpayer’s returns were “proper” albeit not “correct” because the taxpayer sincerely believed it was the consumer of parts and materials used in its repairs, relying on the advice of its accountants. The decision makes clear that had the auto body shop issued a resale certificate when acquiring the tangible personal property at issue and separately stated labor and materials charges on its customers’ bills, Massachusetts would have been entitled to a single sales tax on the shop’s charges for the tangible personal property components only.

Lofa Auto Body, LLC v. Comm’r of Revenue, Docket No. C348289 (Mass. App. Tax Bd. Apr. 7, 2026).

This is the first edition of the Eversheds Sutherland SALT Scoreboard for 2026. For more than a decade, we have tallied the results of what we deem to be the significant taxpayer wins and losses and analyzed those results.

This edition includes discussion of Public Law 86-272 and intercompany transfers, as well as a spotlight on Texas cases.

Dive into the Eversheds Sutherland SALT Scoreboard for the first quarter of 2026 now!

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: A bill was introduced in the Pennsylvania General Assembly that would enact a sales tax holiday for certain purchases related to this Fall holiday.

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

The prize for the first correct 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!

Members of our SALT team will participate in four conferences this week, covering emerging state tax controversies and key developments affecting the hospitality, communications and broader business landscape.

HOTEC Hospitality Tax Conference

SALT Partners Ted Friedman and Charlie Kearns will present “State Taxation of Digital Ads, Data Processing and Information Services: Impact on the Hotel Industry” at the HOTEC Hospitality Tax Conference, taking place May 4–6 in New Orleans.

Their session will examine recent and emerging state tax controversies affecting the hospitality industry, including:

  • Digital advertising litigation
  • Ongoing disputes over the taxation of data processing services and information services

46th Annual Tax Executives Institute (TEI) Region 10 Conference

SALT Partners Liz Cha and Tim Gustafson are pleased to join the 46th Annual TEI Region 10 Conference, taking place May 5-7 in Newport Beach, CA. Liz will provide an indirect tax update, while Tim will discuss current trends in M&A.

Register to join them here.

65th Annual TEI Upstate New York Tax Conference

On Wednesday, May 6, SALT attorneys Todd Betor and Madison Ball will join the TEI Buffalo-Niagara and Rochester Chapters for its 65th Annual TEI Upstate New York Tax Conference. They will present a SALT controversy update.

TeleStrategies’ Communication Taxation Conference

Finally, SALT Partners Liz Cha and Chelsea Marmor are looking forward to presenting at TeleStrategies’ Communication Taxation Conference, taking place May 6–8 in San Diego, CA.

Their panels will dive into timely issues facing the communications industry, including the resurgence of gross receipts taxes and new communications‑specific fees, as well as key litigation and controversies in telecommunications taxation – from the treatment of hardware and software to emerging interpretations of the ITFA and challenges around bundled taxable and nontaxable services.

Register to join this year’s event here.