Policy and Legislation

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Louisiana will offer a tax amnesty from November 16, 2015 to December 15, 2015. Taxpayers that agree to pay delinquent taxes will receive a waiver of 33% of penalties and 17% of interest. The 2015 program applies to taxes due prior to January 1, 2015, for which the Louisiana Department of Revenue has issued an…

By Zack Atkins and Timothy Gustafson

The Oregon Tax Court held that the Multistate Tax Compact (Compact), which allows for an equally weighted, three-factor apportionment formula, was an illusory contract and its terms had been effectively disabled by the Oregon Legislature. The statute in question, ORS 314.606, provides that in case of conflict the provisions…

By Michael Penza and Timothy Gustafson

The Utah State Tax Commission ruled that a Utah-based manufacturing and marketing company’s payroll factor must include compensation paid to a third-party “professional employer organization” (PEO) pursuant to a lease agreement for employees working at the taxpayer’s Utah facilities. The employees signed employment agreements with the PEO, and the…

By Mike Kerman and Charlie Kearns

The Indiana Department of Revenue (Department) found that a medical research company that purchased software licenses was entitled to an exemption from use tax for purchases of taxable computer software as long as it could show the licenses were ultimately used outside of Indiana. The Department added that an…

By Robert Merten and Charlie Kearns

The Missouri Department of Revenue has issued a comprehensive letter ruling answering 12 software-related sales tax questions on issues concerning canned software, custom software, software licenses, software invoices, software installation and software maintenance agreements. Missouri Department of Revenue LR 7615, Aug. 21, 2015. In the letter ruling, the…

In a recent unpublished decision, Residuary Trust A v. Director, Division of Taxation (Kassner), the New Jersey Appellate Division relied on the “square corners doctrine” to hold that the New Jersey Division of Taxation was prohibited from imposing tax for the 2006 tax year based on a policy change not announced until 2011. In…

In his State of the State address at the beginning of the year, Texas Governor Greg Abbott tasked the Legislature with enacting meaningful business tax relief. The Legislature responded by reducing the franchise (also called the margin) tax rate and creating new exemptions and incentives for sales tax. At the same time, however, the Legislature…

The long saga of Michigan’s Multistate Tax Compact election continued on Wednesday with oral argument before the Michigan Court of Appeals. A packed courtroom witnessed a 1.5 hour proceeding before an active three-judge panel. The arguments focused primarily on: (1) whether legislation can retroactively repeal the state’s adoption of the Multistate Tax Compact; (2) whether…

From September 1, 2015, through October 30, 2015, the Comptroller of Maryland will administer a Tax Amnesty Program for tax periods beginning before December 31, 2014. Eligible taxpayers that participate in the Program will receive a waiver of certain civil penalties and a reduction of 50% of the interest associated with certain delinquent taxes.

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