A Louisiana court of appeals affirmed a trial court decision dismissing for lack of personal jurisdiction the Louisiana Department of Revenue’s (“Department”) petition to collect corporate and franchise taxes on over $3.6 million in royalties from nonresident television production company Jeopardy Productions Inc. (“Jeopardy”). Jeopardy earned royalties from Louisiana between 2011 and 2014 through agreements
franchise tax
No Double Trouble Here – Michigan Court of Appeals Holds Merged Banks Entitled to Refund as Single Taxpayer
The Michigan Court of Appeals reversed and vacated the Tax Tribunal’s order and held that merged entities that are a unitary business group (“UBG”) must be treated as single entity for purposes of calculating the franchise tax and that corporate income tax credits carried over to the new entity. The taxpayer, Comerica, Inc., was a…
New York Continues to Disregard Taxpayer’s Reliance on Disregarded Entity Rules
The New York State Tax Appeals Tribunal affirmed a New York State Division of Tax Appeals determination denying a refund claim to a taxpayer that sought to apply the income sourcing rules for registered broker-dealers to receipts from its separate investment advisory business. The taxpayer structured its broker-dealer operations and investment advisory operations into two…
California Franchise Tax Board Provides Extension for Taxpayers
The California Franchise Tax Board just issued Notice 2020-02, providing an extension to July 15th for taxpayers to file income/franchise tax refund claims, protests, or appeals and petitions for rehearing at the Office of Tax Appeals that would normally have statutory due dates during the “postponement period” of Mar. 12, 2020 to July 15,…
Out at the Races: Louisiana Court of Appeal Issues Mixed Decision on Horse Racing Facility Owner’s Franchise Tax Audit Adjustments
On January 8, 2020, the Court of Appeal of Louisiana partly affirmed and partly reversed a district court’s rejection of the Louisiana Department of Revenue’s franchise tax audit changes for a taxpayer that owned and operated, through subsidiaries and an affiliate, casinos and horse-racing facilities. Following an audit, the Department made numerous adjustments to the…
One For All – Michigan Court of Appeals Holds that Financial Institution’s Unitary Business Group Must be Treated as a Single Taxpayer
The Michigan Court of Appeals reversed the Court of Claims and held that an assessment of additional franchise tax on a bank was invalid because the Department of Revenue had improperly calculated the tax base of the bank’s unitary business group (“UBG”). The Michigan Business Tax Act provides that, for a financial institution, the “tax…
No Mixed Signals – Texas Appellate Court Finds Telecomm Signal Sales Are Not Tangible Personal Property
Consistent with a prior decision of a sister appellate court, Texas’ Texarkana Court of Appeals held that the sale of telecommunication products and signals constitutes the sale of a service for purposes of Texas’ franchise tax. The taxpayer sold electrical, light and radio signals to customers through copper wire, fiber-optic cable and leased telephone lines.…
New York Disregards Taxpayer’s Reliance on Disregarded Entity Rules
The New York Division of Tax Appeals denied a refund claim to a taxpayer that sought to apply the income sourcing rules for registered broker-dealers to receipts from its separate investment advisory business. The taxpayer structured its broker-dealer operations and investment advisory operations into two separate single-member limited liability companies (LLCs). The taxpayer claimed that…
Texas Comptroller: Sales of Fuel Oil to Foreign Ships in Texas Waters Are “Texas Sales” for Apportionment Purposes
The Texas Comptroller determined that a taxpayer was required to include in its sales factor numerator its receipts from sales of bunker fuel oil to foreign ships in Texas ports. The taxpayer argued that the sales were not from “business done” in Texas even though the oil was delivered to ships in Texas ports. The…
New York Sustains Retroactive Application of Statutory Amendments to the Empire Zones Act
A New York State Administrative Law Judge ruled that the retroactive application of amendments to the state’s Empire Zones statute—disqualifying a taxpayer from the tax reduction credits—did not violate the taxpayer’s constitutional due process rights. Acknowledging that the stated public purposes of curtailing perceived abuses and raising revenue were better accomplished in prospective legislation, the…