Shaking things up in state and local tax
Shaking things up in state and local tax
By Nicole Boutros and Andrew Appleby
In yet another taxpayer victory, the recently reconstituted New York State Tax Appeals Tribunal determined that the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance improperly denied the taxpayers’ amended returns, which were filed on a combined basis for the 2005 and 2006 tax years (i.e., prior to the…
By Olga Jane Goldberg and Open Weaver Banks
A Texas court ruled that natural gas stored in an underground reservoir is subject to property tax, whether or not the gas is in interstate commerce. Without actually deciding whether the natural gas was in interstate commerce, the Houston Court of Appeals (1st District) held that tax…
Sutherland and the Tax Executives Institute (TEI) are pleased to present this first ever full-day program dedicated to the “Theory, Strategy and Practice of State Tax Controversy” in San Francisco, California on May 21. Topics covered will include:
Continue Reading Join Sutherland and TEI for a full day SALT controversy workshop at the 2015 Audits and Appeals Seminar in San Francisco (May 19-21, 2015)
By Zachary Atkins and Douglas Mo
A California Court of Appeal held that the sale of real property to a lessee having an original lease term of more than 35 years did not result in a change in ownership triggering reassessment for property tax purposes. Proposition 13 established a 2% per-year ceiling on increases in…
By Stephanie Do and Madison Barnett
The Ohio Board of Tax Appeals determined that two out-of-state online retailers with no physical presence in Ohio were subject to Ohio’s Commercial Activity Tax (CAT). The Board, declining to rule on the taxpayers’ constitutional arguments, found that the online retailers met Ohio’s statutory bright-line presence nexus test based…
By Charles Capouet and Andrew Appleby
The Virginia Supreme Court held that the Arlington County Commissioner must defer to the Virginia Tax Commissioner regarding the methodology for calculating a local Business, Professional, and Occupational Licenses tax (“BPOL”) deduction. Arlington County levies a BPOL tax based on the gross receipts attributed to activities conducted at an…
By Zachary Atkins & Prentiss Willson
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) refused to allow a taxpayer, a financial institution, to assign its loan portfolios based on the location of third-party loan servicing activities for purposes of calculating its financial institution excise tax property factor. The taxpayer earned flow-through interest income through its residual beneficial…
By Stephen Burroughs and Andrew Appleby
The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals ruled in favor of an out-of-state life insurance company regarding the calculation of its Alabama net worth tax – the Business Privilege Tax (BPT). The BPT requires an insurance company to calculate its Alabama net worth based on the ratio its Alabama premium…
By Zachary Atkins & Prentiss Willson
A California Court of Appeal held that a taxpayer who brought a successful facial challenge against a state taxing scheme met all of the requirements for an award of attorney fees and that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to award the fees. The taxpayer, an individual,…
By Suzanne Palms and Pilar Mata
The Washington Department of Revenue determined that taxpayers have a right to rely on written but not oral instructions from the Department of Revenue. The taxpayer operated an Internet marketing business and sold its services to customers both inside and outside the state. In June 2011, the taxpayer amended…
