Shaking things up in state and local tax
Shaking things up in state and local tax
By Zachary Atkins & Jonathan Feldman
The Georgia Tax Tribunal held that the Texas Franchise Tax (the “TFT”) is a tax “on or measured by income” and allowed a Georgia resident, who indirectly owned an interest in a pass-through entity, to adjust his federal adjusted gross income for the amount of the entity’s income…
By Nicole Boutros and Pilar Mata
The Illinois Cook County Circuit Court held that an Illinois law firm (the Relator) that filed a qui tam lawsuit against a taxpayer failed to meet its burden to prove the taxpayer knowingly failed to collect and remit Illinois use tax, as required under the Illinois False Claims Act.
By Evan Hamme and Timothy Gustafson
The Colorado Department of Revenue issued guidance to a taxpayer operating a colocation and hosting facility, which provided customers a place to securely store computer servers, on whether certain charges imposed by the taxpayer were subject to sales and use tax. Specifically, the taxpayer requested guidance on the applicability…
By Ted Friedman and Pilar Mata
The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records (OOR) determined that the City of Philadelphia Department of Revenue (City) was not required to provide use and occupancy tax forms and documentation in the City’s possession relating to alleged unpaid use and occupancy taxes in response to a company’s request under Pennsylvania’s…
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…
By Stephanie Do and Timothy Gustafson
The Washington State Department of Revenue determined that a telecommunications company’s leases of dark fiber were competitive telephone services and thus subject to retail sales tax. The taxpayer leased dark fiber – unused, unlit fiber optic cable – from various carriers and subsequently “lit” the dark fiber with its…
By Mary Alexander and Charlie Kearns
The Missouri Department of Revenue determined in a letter ruling that Bitcoins are intangible property not subject to tax under Missouri’s Sales and Use Tax Law. As explained by the taxpayer, Bitcoins are “a form of digital currency that is created by software and stored electronically.” Here, the taxpayer…
By Stephanie Do and Andrew Appleby
The Massachusetts Department of Revenue addressed the possible expiration and subsequent retroactive enactment of the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA). The Department advised Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to continue to rely on Technical Information Release (TIR) No. 05-8 (July 14, 2005), until further notice, to determine the taxability…
By Derek Takehara and Andrew Appleby
The Minnesota Supreme Court upheld the Minnesota Department of Revenue’s imposition of sales tax on a software company’s sale of partially customized software because the taxpayer failed to separately state customization charges on customer invoices. The taxpayer licensed software that analyzed information on retailers’ cash registers. The taxpayer always…
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…
