Shaking things up in state and local tax
Shaking things up in state and local tax
By Zack Atkins and Marc Simonetti
A federal district court denied a taxpayer’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought under the New York False Claims Act (FCA) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and remanded the action to state court. The relator, an Indiana University professor, alleges that Citigroup violated the FCA by deducting net…
Tinkering with a state’s interest provisions can be a hidden way to increase revenue without expanding the base or increasing the tax rate—an important work-around for legislators who have pledged not to increase taxes. However, fundamental fairness requires states to follow specific tenets related to interest provisions. View this State Tax Notes article, which outlines…
By Jessica Allen and Jeff Friedman
The Tennessee Department of Revenue (Department) released a letter ruling stating that a taxpayer’s charges for use of its web-based interface are subject to sales and use tax as the sale of ancillary services. The taxpayer’s proprietary software allows users to communicate through text and other messages on a…
The Colorado Department of Revenue (Department) released a non-binding general information letter, concluding that a marketplace provider’s payment of sales tax on transactions involving “jointly responsible” third-party retailers discharges the obligations of the third-party retailers to collect and remit sales tax. By statute, the Department has discretionary authority to…
By Christopher Lutz and Jeff Friedman
On December 15, 2016, the Tennessee Joint Government Operations Committee held a hearing regarding the governor’s proposal to establish an economic nexus standard for the state sales tax. Under the proposal, remote sellers would be subject to collection obligations in the state if their Tennessee sales exceed $500,000. The…
By Eric Coffill
New Oregon Gross Receipts Tax Proposal. On December 14, 2016, the group behind Measure 97 (which was defeated at the November 2016 general election), released a booklet setting forth its 2017 legislative proposals. The document includes the basic structure for a new “$100 Million Business Tax” “and is “calling on the Legislature…
By Charles Capouet and Andrew Appleby
The Washington Supreme Court held that drop shipments and sales from out-of-state are subject to the Washington business and occupation (B&O) tax even when an in-state office was not involved in placing or completing the sales. A wholesaler of electronic components and computer technology worldwide sold products through its…
By Stephen Burroughs and Maria Todorova
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania recently reaffirmed its decision that Level 3’s network infrastructure services (including local dial networks, telephone numbers and modems, i.e., Internet “backbone”) sold to retail Internet service providers (ISPs) constitute non-taxable Internet access services. The Commonwealth Court previously held that the taxpayer’s facility was an…
By Jessica Allen and Jonathan Feldman
The New York City Tax Appeals Tribunal administrative law judge (ALJ) determined that a taxpayer’s receipts for consulting services should be allocated based on where the services were rendered, not where the solicitation and payment for the services occurred. The taxpayer’s non-commissioned salespeople entered into lump-sum subscription agreements with…
By Elizabeth Cha and Timothy Gustafson
On October 26, 2016, the South Carolina Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling and determined the Department of Revenue (Department) failed to satisfy its burden of showing that the statutory apportionment formula did not fairly represent Rent-A-Center West Inc.’s (RAC) business activities in South Carolina. This case…
