Shaking things up in state and local tax
Shaking things up in state and local tax
By Zachary Atkins and Marc Simonetti
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the attorney-client privilege and work-product doctrine protected legal memoranda prepared by an accounting firm that were disclosed to third parties. The Schaeffler Group sought to refinance its acquisition debt held by a consortium of banks and restructure its…
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…
In Part I of their series for State Tax Notes, Sutherland attorneys Leah Robinson and Evan M. Hamme provided a roadmap describing how to challenge a department of revenue’s assertion that online services are taxable as licenses of software. While focused on New York audits, the roadmap can assist in any similar audit.
In Part…
By Evan Hamme and Charlie Kearns
A New York State Division of Tax Appeals Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) determined that two-way radio communications services, or walkie-talkie services, are not telephone services subject to New York State’s telecommunications excise tax imposed under Tax Law § 186-e (186-e Tax). The petitioner uses specialized equipment or “repeaters” to…
In a recent unpublished decision, Residuary Trust A v. Director, Division of Taxation (Kassner), the New Jersey Appellate Division relied on the “square corners doctrine” to hold that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…
By Michael Penza and Timothy Gustafson
The Virginia Tax Commissioner upheld an upward adjustment to a taxpayer’s payroll factor attributing to Virginia all compensation that the taxpayer had reported to the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) for purposes of the state’s unemployment insurance tax. The taxpayer, a Virginia-based contractor providing security services for the United States…
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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Since late 2008, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance has routinely taken the position that charges for application service provider services, software as a service, or other online services may be subject to New York sales tax as licenses of software. Some sellers began collecting sales tax on this basis, and the…
Yesterday, the Multistate Tax Commission kicked off its annual conference and committee meetings with meetings of the Audit and Nexus Committees. The MTC’s Audit program continues to grow by adding Iowa, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Delaware to the program during the last fiscal year. The MTC Nexus Committee is responsible for administering the National Nexus…
By Charles C. Capouet and Andrew D. Appleby
The Indiana Department of Revenue found that software training is not subject to sales and use tax because it does not constitute tangible personal property. The Department audited the taxpayer and assessed additional use tax on its purchase of a software license agreement. Nearly half of the…
