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’s governor recently vetoed legislation that would have allowed professional employer organizations to include certain expense reimbursements in their apportionment factor? 

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!

On Friday, December 19, the City Council passed a budget which includes a new Social Media Amusement Tax (SMAT) and increases several existing taxes. If enacted, the SMAT would be a first of its kind tax (in the US) imposed exclusively on social media companies. The SMAT revenue is earmarked to fund Chicago’s mental and behavioral health operations and investments.

Read the full Legal Alert 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: In the November 2025 elections, voters in which state approved a constitutional amendment that prohibits the legislature from imposing a state tax on the property of a deceased individual’s estate because of the death of the individual?

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!

Initially enacted as a temporary measure, Congress made ITFA permanent in 2016 to reflect the enduring federal commitment to preserve a tax-neutral digital infrastructure and protect an evolving digital economy. Indeed, today’s “internet access” is no longer defined by static homepages and email alone, but by cloud computing, digital advertising ecosystems, streaming platforms, and bundled online services. As states seek new revenue sources, they are increasingly reinterpreting – and at times, ignoring – ITFA’s protections to capture taxes on these modern digital offerings.

In this installment of “A Pinch of SALT,” published by Tax Notes State, Eversheds Sutherland attorneys Charlie Kearns, Maria Todorova and Olivia Dibb analyze the evolving legal landscape of ITFA, including how states are testing federal protections in pursuit of digital revenue and how courts are responding to the challenges of a rapidly transforming digital economy.

Read the full article here.

In this episode of the SALT Shaker Podcast, SALT Counsel Jeremy Gove and Chelsea Marmor break down key New York tax and administrative developments shaping 2025.

Their discussion includes:

  • The proposed agenda of the incoming New York City mayor
  • Significant personnel and administrative changes in New York City
  • Recent court rulings on the retroactivity of the corporate income tax regulations
  • Emerging tax revenue streams from legalized casinos and congestion pricing

They wrap up with two thought-provoking questions in the overrated/underrated segment – don’t miss it!

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

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The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, held that Jefferson City could not proceed with its collection action against Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular, AT&T, and Verizon affiliates for delinquent business license taxes. The court held the city lacked standing because, under Missouri law, suits against telecom companies must be brought by a “person” or “corporation,” and a municipality did not qualify as either. Furthermore, the court held the city did not follow the proper statutory procedure required under Missouri law to notify the companies of the alleged tax underpayments before initiating a lawsuit. Missouri law requires an assessment of back taxes due and a formal notification to the delinquent taxpayer. Although the city claimed it conducted a tax assessment, nothing in the city’s petition indicated the city notified the companies of such assessment. Accordingly, the court held that the city was procedurally barred from pursuing its collection suit.

City of Jefferson v. Sprint Commc’ns, Inc., No. ED113433 (Mo. Ct. App. E.D. Dec. 2, 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: A tax appeals tribunal of what city recently held that a taxpayer could take an unincorporated business tax deduction for interest expenses that were deductible at the federal level?

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!

The third quarter of 2025 saw notable activity in New York tax law, including new appointments, regulatory changes, and key decisions.

In this installment of NY Tax Talk, a quarterly column in Law360 focused on recent developments in New York tax law, Eversheds Sutherland attorneys Liz Cha and Periklis Fokaidis highlight the filling of ALJ vacancies at the New York City Tax Appeals Tribunal, the release of proposed corporate tax regulations, ongoing litigation over apportionment rules, and a recent decision on sales tax for bundled software and services.

Read the full article here.

In Guild Mortgage Company v. Washington Department of Revenue, the Washington Board of Tax Appeals considered whether certain fees associated with mortgage sales – guaranty fees, loan-level price adjustments (LLPAs), and lender credits – should be included in the taxpayer’s gross income for purposes of the state’s business and occupation (B&O) tax. 

The taxpayer originated residential mortgage loans and sold most to government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which securitize the loans into mortgage-backed securities. To participate in the GSE programs, the taxpayer paid guaranty fees and LLPAs. The taxpayer also sometimes provides lender-paid credits to cover borrower closing costs in exchange for a higher interest rate. Following an audit for 2013–2017, the Department assessed B&O tax on all three of these amounts.

The Board held Guaranty fees and LLPAs are not adjustments to the selling price but are expenses incurred to sell loans to GSEs and thus cannot be deducted under Washington’s B&O tax statute. However, the Board agreed with the taxpayer that lender-paid credits were not taxable because they were a capital investment in the loan.

Guild Mortgage Company v. Washington Department of Revenue, Washington Board of Tax Appeals (Docket No. 20-122, Aug. 29, 2025).

The taxpayers, originally residing in New York, were issued a tax assessment for unpaid income tax but they claimed they moved out of the state and settled in Florida in late 2018 (as part of their retirement plan) while still maintaining living quarters in New York. The taxpayer argued that they had changed their domicile to Florida and as support they presented evidence showing that, among other things, they registered as Florida voters, signed a document declaring themselves domiciled in Florida, obtained Florida drivers’ licenses, registered their vehicles in Florida, joined a country club in Florida, and became involved in their Florida condo board. The taxpayers also spent most of the days during the winter months in Florida. However, the taxpayers still maintained connections with New York including having two country club memberships, spending a significant amount of days in New York during the summer months, and one of the taxpayers still owned and collected a salary from a business located in New York. In 2018, the taxpayers spent 132 days in Florida, 195 days in New York (notably in excess of the 183-day statutory residency test), and 38 days in other locations. While in 2019, the taxpayers spent 155 days in Florida, 170 days in New York, and 40 days in other locations.

The Tax Appeals Tribunal upheld the assessment, agreeing with the Division of Taxation that the taxpayers had not completed their change of domicile during the tax periods at issue. The Tribunal noted that “formal declarations of domicile, such as voter registration or motor vehicle registration, have lost their importance in recent years as courts have recognized their self-serving nature[.]” The Tribunal found that the taxpayers continued to have “substantial ties” to their New York businesses and spent a significant amount of time, including holidays, at their “substantial property” in New York which they previously used as their main home in prior years. The Tribunal concluded that, based on this evidence, the taxpayers had “failed to established by clear and convincing evidence” that they had changed their domicile to Florida during the tax periods at issue.

Matter of the Petition of John J. Hoff and Kathleen Ocorr-Hoff, DTA No. 850209 (Oct. 9, 2025).