Shaking things up in state and local tax
Shaking things up in state and local tax
In the pending-precedential decision Appeal of Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Co-op., the California Office of Tax Appeals (OTA) ruled that payroll, property and sales that generated deductible agricultural cooperative income under Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code Section 24404 must be included in the taxpayer’s corresponding payroll, property and sales factors.
The California Franchise Tax…
On February 24, 2023, the Wisconsin Tax Appeals Commission upheld the Department’s assessment that Skechers’ licensing transaction with its wholly owned subsidiary, Skechers USA Inc. II (SKII), lacked a valid business purpose and economic substance. On the formation of SKII, Skechers entered into a license agreement with its subsidiary that generated significant royalty deductions, which…
The Washington Administrative Review and Hearings Division (the Division) of the Department of Revenue held that payments between affiliated entities could not be deducted from “gross income” subject to the business and occupation tax (B&O Tax). Each of the taxpayers, three affiliated entities falling under the same parent company umbrella with each providing investment management…
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals held that guidance issued by the Department of Revenue required the Department to allow a dividends-received deduction for cash distributions received by a taxpayer from a foreign partnership that was classified as a corporation for federal purposes. The taxpayer based its claim to the deduction on published guidance in effect…
On January 6, 2021, the Court of Appeals of New Mexico held that a power purchase agreement (PPA), entered into by a wholesale electricity generator to secure compensation in exchange for providing electricity, constituted intangible property that is not subject to property taxation and cannot be included in the value of the wholesaler’s electric plant…
On October 7, 2020, the Massachusetts Appeals Court held that a taxpayer’s deduction for payment of the Indiana utility receipts tax (“URT”) was permitted for Massachusetts corporate income tax purposes. The taxpayer who was engaged in natural gas distribution operations in Massachusetts and other states, claimed a deduction for the URT it paid to Indiana…
Several California localities filed a complaint alleging that PG&E willfully miscalculated the electricity user’s tax (“Electricity Tax”) causing harm to the cities, their employees and public services. California cities and counties impose Electricity Tax on a percentage of charges for electricity used within the city. For example, the City of Sacramento imposes an Electricity Tax…
On Aug. 6, the New York Tax Appeals Tribunal held that royalties received from a foreign affiliate are taxable and are not subject to New York’s royalty income exclusion provision under former Tax Law § 208(9)(o)(3).
Prior to its amendment, Tax Law § 208(9)(o)(3) provided for a deduction for royalties received from a related member…
The Washington Supreme Court held that a business & occupation (“B&O”) tax deduction contained in RCW 82.04.4311 is limited to payments received from Washington and federal programs, but not payments received from other states’ medical programs. The B&O tax is a gross receipts tax imposed on nearly every type of enterprise, including for-profit and not-for-profit…
On January 16, 2020, the Supreme Court of Washington, in an en banc decision, held that a retailer was entitled to take bad debt deductions for sales and Business and Occupation (“B&O”) taxes when its customers defaulted on purchases made using private label credit cards.
The retailer contracted with banks to offer private label credit…
