By Charles Capouet and Charlie Kearns
On November 6, 2017, the Minnesota Department of Revenue issued a Revenue Notice advising taxpayers that it acquiesces to the Minnesota Tax Court’s decision in Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. v. Commissioner of Revenue. As a result, the Department now takes the position that Minnesota’s version of the
franchise tax
New York State Advisory Opinion: Non-US Unauthorized Life Insurance Companies’ Premiums Excluded from Apportionment Factor
By Dmitrii Gabrielov and Andrew Appleby
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance issued an advisory opinion determining that non-US unauthorized life insurance companies’ premiums were not includable in the New York State insurance franchise tax apportionment factor. The Department reasoned that the apportionment statute requires a life insurance company to report its…
New York State Appellate Division Affirms that HMOs Were Subject to New York City General Corporation Tax
By Dmitrii Gabrielov and Andrew Appleby
The New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, affirmed the New York City Tax Appeals Tribunal’s (Tribunal) decision that Aetna’s subsidiary health maintenance organizations (HMOs) were subject to the New York City General Corporation Tax (GCT) for 2005 and 2006. The Appellate Division determined that the Tribunal’s reasoning…
DC Office of Tax and Revenue Launches New QHTC Sales and Use Tax Exemption Application/Pre-Certification Process
On November 1, 2017, the District of Columbia will begin implementing a new sales and use tax exemption application process for Qualified High Technology Companies (QHTCs). The new application procedure signifies a shift to essentially a pre-certification process and creates new documentation requirements for companies seeking QHTC benefits. Key considerations include:
- Companies will now be
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Minnesota Supreme Court Respects Federal Check-the-Box Election for Minnesota Combined Reporting Purposes
By Samantha Trencs and Jeff Friedman
The Minnesota Supreme Court respected a foreign entity’s federal check-the-box election for the purpose of determining which entities were included in the Minnesota combined franchise tax reports. The court held that including the income and apportionment factors of a foreign entity that elects under federal tax law to be…
New York State Tax Appeals Tribunal: Payments to Captive Insurance Company Did Not Qualify as Deductible Insurance Premiums
By Andrew Appleby and Dmitrii Gabrielov
The New York State Tax Appeals Tribunal released its precedential decision in Stewart’s Shops, affirming an Administrative Law Judge’s determination that payments by a corporation to its captive insurance company did not qualify as deductible insurance premiums because the arrangement did not constitute insurance for federal income tax…
Congress Holds Hearing on Legislation to Limit State Taxation
On July 25, 2017, the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law conducted a hearing on “No Regulation Without Representation: HR 2887 and the Growing Problem of States Regulating Beyond Their Borders.” This hearing was important for several reasons:
- State tax nexus legislation has been one of the
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Texas Comptroller Finds Payment Risk and Fraud Prevention Solutions Should Be Apportioned as a Service
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts has issued a private letter ruling finding that a Texas company’s revenue from sales of real-time payment risk and fraud prevention services should be sourced to the location of Taxpayer’s customers. In Texas, receipts from a service are sourced to the location where…
The First Amendment Right to Pass-Through Fees — and Taxes
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The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled in Expressions Hair Design v. Schneiderman that a New York statute that prohibits identifying a surcharge to customers for credit card payments regulates speech and is therefore subject to heightened scrutiny. The court remanded the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to determine whether |
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Harley Hits Another Trial Court Road Bump–California Superior Court Upholds FTB’s Different Combined Reporting Treatment of Interstate and Intrastate Companies
By Robert Merten and Madison Barnett
The San Diego County Superior Court determined that California’s combined filing regime—which requires interstate taxpayers to use combined reporting but permits intrastate taxpayers to choose between combined or separate reporting—does not violate the US Constitution’s Commerce Clause. The court acknowledged that (1) the interstate and intrastate unitary businesses were…



