Policy and Legislation

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The Utah State Tax Commission has amended its rules for apportioning financial institution receipts attributable to services from a costs-of-performance sourcing rule to a market-based sourcing rule (Utah Admin. R. R865-6F-32(3)(l)). Effective December 9, 2010, financial institutions must include in the sales factor numerator receipts from services not otherwise specifically addressed in the regulation “if the purchaser of the services receives a greater benefit of the services in Utah than in any other state.” 

The change in sourcing methodology is consistent with Utah’s recently amended general corporation apportionment statute, Utah Code Ann. § 59-7-319, which similarly provides for the market sourcing of services (based on where the purchaser receives a greater benefit of the service). The change to market sourcing for financial institutions is another departure by Utah from the Multistate Tax Commission’s (MTC) model regulations for the apportionment of financial institution income. Continue Reading Utah Goes Market for Sourcing of Financial Institution Services

The Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) held its Fall Uniformity Committee Meetings in Atlanta, Georgia on December 7-9. With a significant turnover in state tax commissioners expected as a result of the November elections, it will be interesting to see if any of the decisions made by MTC representatives the last few years are revisited at…

The South Carolina Tax Realignment Commission (TRAC) has released its Final Report, which includes proposed draft legislation to achieve its recommendations. As expected, the recommendations include the expansion of the sales tax base to include “data processing, software delivered over the Internet, and digital products.” In addition, the recommendations include language to expand sales tax…

Despite the overwhelming business opposition to “throwout” sales factor apportionment rules and New Jersey’s recent repeal of its “throwout” rule, Maine is now bucking the trend and adopting a new “throwout” rule. Effective for 2010 and subsequent years, Maine adopted the Finnigan methodology for computing the sales factor for a combined return and to replace its “throwback” rule with the “throwout” rule.

Under the new Finnigan methodology of Code Me. R. 810 for determining the numerator of the sales factor in a combined report, “total sales of the taxpayer” in Maine now includes sales of the taxpayer and sales of any other entity included in a combined return, regardless of whether those entities themselves have nexus with Maine. The adoption of Finnigan applies to both unitary groups that have elected to file a single combined return and those that file separate returns utilizing combined apportionment. If separate returns are filed, each taxpayer’s  return will include in the numerator of the sales factor its own Maine sourced sales as well as a portion of the Maine sourced sales of those entities in the unitary group that do not have nexus with Maine.Continue Reading Throw Out the Throwback: Maine Replaces “Throwback” with “Throwout” and Adopts Finnigan

On October 28, 2010, the Georgia Department of Revenue proposed to amend its regulation entitled “Shifting of Income” (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 560-7-8-.07). This proposed amendment is intended to be a “clarification” of the Department’s current authorities to adjust the income between related parties and require combined reporting if other methods will result in distortion of separately reported income under O.C.G.A. § 48-7-58. However, the proposed amendment’s language states that the “Commissioner may combine the income of any affiliates in order to compute the net income properly attributable to this state” and appears to significantly expand the Commissioner’s authority beyond the limits contemplated by Georgia statutes and case law.Continue Reading Georgia Proposes to Shift Rules on Combining Income

Chaos resulting from the California budget crisis reached a crescendo in recent weeks because of a new budget agreement, a bevy of voter referendums addressing tax legislation, and new regulations addressing corporate income tax apportionment issues. In the aftermath of the chaos, California has again significantly modified its corporate income tax apportionment provisions, for…

In what was beginning to seem like an unlikely event, the Michigan Legislature finally passed a nearly year-old bill that will allow for a limited amnesty period, from May 15, 2011, to June 30, 2011. While the Senate passed the original amnesty bill in 2009, there was no further movement of the bill until…

The Connecticut Department of Revenue recently issued an Informational Publication (Publication) on September 23, 2010, to provide guidance on its new “economic nexus” standard, effective for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2010. Connecticut’s new economic nexus standard states that:

Any company that derives income from sources within this state, or that has

…