Shaking things up in state and local tax
Shaking things up in state and local tax
By Evan Hamme and Andrew Appleby
The Oklahoma Supreme Court held that an initiative to amend the state’s constitution does not violate the state’s constitutional rule that a public vote to amend the constitution must address only one general subject (one general subject rule). Although the proposed constitutional amendment contains multiple sections making multiple proposals…
By Hanish Patel and Marc Simonetti
The Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) determined that the sale of certain online membership benefits—early, exclusive access to products and deals and unlimited cloud data storage—were not subject to Florida sales tax or the Communications Service Tax (CST). However, the DOR added that the taxpayer’s purchase of reorder button…
A New York State Division of Tax Appeals administrative law judge issued three determinations addressing the tax implications for unauthorized insurance companies, both life and non-life. Significant uncertainty has surrounded New York State’s taxation of unauthorized insurance companies since New York State amended its insurance tax provisions in 2003. The Department of Taxation and Finance …
By Jessica Eisenmenger and Amy Nogid
The Florida Department of Revenue determined that software upgrades that are delivered electronically are not subject to sales tax because the upgrade was a stand-alone version of the software and did not rely on the earlier, physically-delivered software to operate. The Department also determined that sales tax does not…
By Samantha Trencs and Eric Tresh
The Michigan Court of Appeals held that the mandatory apportionment provision of the Michigan Single Business Tax Act did not impliedly repeal Michigan’s enactment of the Multistate Tax Compact’s alternative apportionment election provision. In addition, the court held that the Single Business Tax (SBT) was an income tax under…
By Evan Hamme and Charlie Kearns
Purchases of “data center equipment for assembly, use, or consumption in the operations of a qualified data center” on or after January 1, 2016, are exempt from Michigan sales and use tax. M.C.L. §§ 205.54ee, 205.94cc; see generally Notice Regarding Data Center Exemption, Feb. 5, 2016…
By Hanish Patel and Jonathan Feldman
The Georgia Department of Revenue held a public hearing on a proposed regulation amendment that would materially affect the use of direct pay permits in Georgia. The proposed regulation would cause all current permits to expire on December 31, 2016, and require all current holders to reapply and agree…
By Todd Betor and Jonathan Feldman
On February 11, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held that the receipts earned by Orbitz, an online travel company, from its services and markups for reserved rooms are not subject to sales tax. Specifically, the court determined that Orbitz is not “furnishing” rooms or lodging for purposes of Wisconsin…
The New Jersey Division of Taxation recently named John Ficara as its new director, who will perform in an acting capacity until confirmed by the Senate.
In their article for State Tax Notes, Sutherland attorneys Leah Robinson and Open Weaver Banks interview Mr. Ficara to discuss his new role, what drew him to government…
By Hanish Patel and Marc Simonetti
In a Chief Counsel Ruling, the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) ruled that, for purposes of determining its sale factor, a financial information provider should source the sales of its information services based on where the taxpayer’s customer receives the benefit of the service, and not where the ultimate…
