Shaking things up in state and local tax
Shaking things up in state and local tax
By Nicole Boutros and Andrew Appleby
In a case of first impression interpreting when substantial intercorporate transactions are present for purposes of New York’s mandatory combined reporting provisions, a New York State Division of Tax Appeals Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) concluded that the taxpayers could not file on a combined basis. In 2007, New York…
As part of its implementation of mandatory combined reporting, the District of Columbia’s Office of Tax and Revenue issued a taxpayer-friendly proposed regulation that would provide an automatic seven-month extension for calendar and fiscal year taxpayers.
For more details, read our legal alert, “D.C. Proposes to Extend Deadline for Combined Reports“
On December 1, 2011, the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) decided to begin a formal regulatory process on numerous proposed regulations¸ including Proposed Regulation 25106.5, implementing the Finnigan Rule, codified in Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 25135(c); and Proposed Regulation 25106.5-1, modifying the rules governing Deferred Intercompany Stock Accounts (DISAs). The FTB staff’s…
The Indiana Tax Court granted a motion for partial summary judgment to AE Outfitters Retail Co. and held that the Indiana Department of State Revenue may require combined reporting only after first determining that other alternative apportionment methodologies would result in an equitable apportionment of the taxpayer’s income. AE Outfitters Retail Co. v. Ind. Dep’t of State Revenue (Ind. Tax Ct. Oct. 25, 2011).
The dispute in the case was whether the Department was required to first apply statutorily provided remedies to adjust a taxpayer’s income before applying combined reporting. Like many states, Indiana statutes provide alternative apportionment methods for re-determining income if the taxpayer’s income is not fairly represented, including separate accounting, the exclusion of factors, the inclusion of additional factors, or any other method to effectuate an equitable allocation and apportionment of the taxpayer’s income. Ind. Code § 6-3-2-2(l). Furthermore, in the case of commonly owned or controlled businesses, the statute allows the Department to “distribute, apportion or allocate the income derived from sources within the state of Indiana between and among those organizations, trades or businesses in order to fairly reflect and report the income derived from sources within the state of Indiana by various taxpayers.” Ind. Code § 6-3-2-2(m). The statute, however, limits the Department’s ability to use combined reporting in situations where it “is unable to fairly reflect the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income for the taxable year through use of other powers granted to the department by” those other statutory provisions.Continue Reading Indiana Combination Is Last Resort
The Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board recently upheld the Commissioner of Revenue’s denial of deductions for interest expense on intercompany loans. Sysco Corp. v. Comm’r of Revenue, Docket Nos. C282656 & C283182 (Mass. App. Tax Bd., Oct. 20, 2011).
In Sysco, the taxpayer employed a common cash management arrangement in which cash was swept…
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (Department) provided another example of its longstanding eagerness to force taxpayer combination—at least in cases where it results in increased tax revenue. In the Matter of Kellwood Co., No. 820915 (N.Y. Tax App. Trib. Sept. 22, 2011).
The Department (or taxpayer) must prove three elements to require a combined report:
Continue Reading New York Attempts to Take Taxpayer Out Behind the (Kell)Woodshed
The Indiana Tax Court held that the Indiana Department of Revenue could not require Rent-A-Center East, Inc. (RAC East) to file a combined return with two of its affiliates. Rent-A-Center East, Inc. v. Indiana Dep’t of Rev., 49T10-0612-TA-106 (May 27, 2011). Generally, Indiana requires corporations to file income tax returns on a separate entity…
After nearly 60 years of experimentation with value added and gross receipts taxes, Michigan has now joined the rank-and-file corporate income tax states through its repeal of the Michigan Business Tax (MBT). Governor Snyder signed the tax package (H.B. 4361, H.B. 4362) into law on May 25, 2011. According to the Council on State Taxation, the legislation takes the state from 30th to 16th in the nation in terms of lowest state and local business tax burden.
The new 6% corporate income tax, effective January 1, 2012, retains many of the same features as the Business Income Tax component of the former MBT, including unitary combined reporting, single sales factor apportionment with market sourcing, a Finnigan apportionment rule, and the same tax rate. The MBT factor presence nexus standard is also retained, under which nexus is established if an out-of-state company has physical presence in Michigan for more than one day or actively solicits sales in the state and has Michigan gross receipts of $350,000 or more. The new tax also incorporates the same tax regimes for insurance companies and financial institutions that existed under the MBT. Insurance companies continue to be subject to the greater of a 1.25% tax on gross direct Michigan premiums or the retaliatory tax, and financial institutions will still be subject to tax based on 0.29% of net capital.Continue Reading Michigan’s Tax Roulette Lands on a Corporate Income Tax
On April 1 (fittingly), the District of Columbia’s new Mayor, Vincent G. Gray, unveiled his proposed budget, B19-0203 “Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Support Act of 2011” (Budget Bill), which includes the long-awaited/feared combined reporting provisions. If the Budget Bill passes as-is, the District will formally adopt a combined reporting regime effective retroactively to tax years…
At both the federal and state levels, the GOP won a number of game-changing races that will impact state and local tax policy in 2011 and beyond. Of the 37 gubernatorial races held in 2010, Republicans won 23. All six Republican incumbents won; Republicans defeated Democratic incumbents in two of the seven other incumbent races. …
