New York Governor Andrew Cuomo introduced his 2015-2016 budget and accompanying legislation on January 19, 2015 (the 2015 Budget Bill). If enacted, New York’s tax law will be significantly altered for the second time in two years. The sales tax provisions of the legislation will tax most intercompany transactions and will also accelerate the payment
apportionment
Massachusetts Issues Final Revised Market-Sourcing Regulation; Multistate Tax Commission Working Group Continues Project Based on Massachusetts Regulation
By Robert P. Merten III and Prentiss Willson
Massachusetts has published its final revised market-sourcing regulation (830 CMR 63.38.1), effective for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2014. The final revisions to these rules, among other things, conform the regulation with recent state law amendments requiring taxpayers to use market-based sourcing…
The Jersey Short: New Jersey’s New Year’s Resolutions
Undoubtedly, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the State Legislature, the Tax Court and the Division of Taxation have their own lists of resolutions for 2015.
However, in their article for State Tax Notes, Sutherland attorneys Leah Robinson and Open Weaver Banks suggest numerous New Year’s resolutions for New Jersey, including publishing an audit manual and…
Electricity Transmission and Distribution Equipment Ineligible for Georgia Sales Tax Manufacturing Exemption
The Georgia Tax Tribunal has held that an electric utility’s transmission and distribution equipment was not “necessary and integral to the manufacture of tangible personal property” and thus did not qualify for an exemption from Georgia sales and use tax. See Georgia Power Company v. MacGinnitie, Dkt. No. Tax-S&UT-1403540 (Ga. Tax Tribunal, Jan. 5…
#TBHoosier – Indiana Throws Sales Back Into Its Court
By Mary Alexander and Timothy Gustafson
The Indiana Department of Revenue applied the State’s throwback rule to an Indiana company’s sales to California customers based on a determination that the taxpayer was not subject to tax in California due to P.L. 86-272. Under Indiana law, a sale is attributed to Indiana for sales factor apportionment…
Seller of Online Courses Gets a Lesson in Indiana’s Interpretation of the Cost of Performance Methodology
By Stephanie Do and Open Weaver Banks
The Indiana Department of Revenue determined that an out-of-state taxpayer improperly sourced tuition received from its Indiana students taking online learning courses on a cost of performance basis. The taxpayer provided educational services through local campus courses and online learning programs. In computing its Indiana sales factor, the…
It’s Your Burden: South Carolina Supreme Court Rejects Department of Revenue’s Application of Alternative Apportionment
The South Carolina Supreme Court issued its decision in CarMax Auto Superstores West Coast, Inc. v. S.C. Dep’t of Revenue, Opinion No. 27474 (S.C. Dec. 23, 2014), holding that the South Carolina Department of Revenue bore the burden of proof to invoke the use of an alternative apportionment method and failed to meet its…
Michigan Court of Claims Upholds Retroactive Compact Repeal Legislation
Upholding retroactive legislation recently enacted by the Michigan Legislature, the Michigan Court of Claims today dismissed multiple cases where taxpayers had appealed the Department of Treasury’s denial of their ability to elect three-factor apportionment under the Multistate Tax Compact. See, i.e., Taskawa America, Inc. v. Department of Treasury, Case No. 11-000077-MT (Mich. Ct.
A Pinch of SALT: What New York Can Learn From California’s Combined Reporting History
As part of a sweeping law change, New York will require taxpayers to use a water’s-edge combined reporting method when filing corporate income tax returns beginning January 1, 2015.
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Illinois Allows Intermediate Carrier to Source International Telecommunications Receipts Based on Its Property Factor
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…



