Shaking things up in state and local tax
Shaking things up in state and local tax
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By Ted Friedman and Pilar Mata
The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records (OOR) determined that the City of Philadelphia Department of Revenue (City) was not required to provide use and occupancy tax forms and documentation in the City’s possession relating to alleged unpaid use and occupancy taxes in response to a company’s request under Pennsylvania’s…
By Derek Takehara and Andrew Appleby
The Illinois Department of Revenue determined that a wholesale distributor of international telecommunications services could source its long-distance telephone receipts based on its Illinois property factor. The taxpayer, an intermediate international telecommunications carrier, owned and rented equipment in several states, including Illinois. Illinois law provides that a taxpayer must…
By Stephanie Do and Timothy Gustafson
The Washington State Department of Revenue determined that a telecommunications company’s leases of dark fiber were competitive telephone services and thus subject to retail sales tax. The taxpayer leased dark fiber – unused, unlit fiber optic cable – from various carriers and subsequently “lit” the dark fiber with its…
By Mary Alexander and Charlie Kearns
The Missouri Department of Revenue determined in a letter ruling that Bitcoins are intangible property not subject to tax under Missouri’s Sales and Use Tax Law. As explained by the taxpayer, Bitcoins are “a form of digital currency that is created by software and stored electronically.” Here, the taxpayer…
On October 2, in PPL Electric Utilities Corporation v. Director, Division of Taxation, No. 000005-2011, the New Jersey Tax Court determined that federal deductions for the taxpayer’s payments of Pennsylvania gross receipts tax and Pennsylvania capital stock tax are not subject to addback in New Jersey. As a result, taxpayers that added back those…
The MTC continued its foray into transfer pricing. In a highly anticipated meeting, the MTC engaged with seven economics firms—all of which could potentially offer their services to the MTC—to determine how best to tackle state transfer pricing issues. With a target date of Summer 2015 for implementation of a robust transfer pricing audit program…
By Stephanie Do and Andrew Appleby
The Massachusetts Department of Revenue addressed the possible expiration and subsequent retroactive enactment of the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA). The Department advised Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to continue to rely on Technical Information Release (TIR) No. 05-8 (July 14, 2005), until further notice, to determine the taxability…
The Maryland Chamber of Commerce has entered the battle against Maryland’s unconstitutional personal income tax regime. Filing as amicus curiae before the U.S. Supreme Court in Maryland State Comptroller of the Treasury v. Wynne, the Maryland Chamber identified the fatal flaw with Maryland’s personal income tax: by not providing full relief to Maryland residents…
By Ted Friedman and Prentiss Willson
The Texas Comptroller determined that for Texas franchise tax purposes the apportionment factor of an out-of-state taxpayer engaged in the provision of technical training could not be adjusted to account for certain costs incurred in preparing and marketing the training sessions. The training sessions that were sold in Texas…
