On March 24, the Georgia General Assembly passed House Bill 960, which would adjust the statutory interest rate applicable to tax assessments and refunds and addresses other issues related to refund claims for Georgia sales and use taxes. H.B. 960 passed the legislature while the Georgia Department of Revenue continues to consider regulatory action that would
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Georgia Still Showing No Interest: Georgia Department of Revenue Holds Hearing on Proposed Regulation Eliminating Refund Interest for Direct Pay Permit Holders
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Posted in Policy and Legislation, Southeast
By Hanish Patel and Jonathan Feldman
The Georgia Department of Revenue held a public hearing on a proposed regulation amendment that would materially affect the use of direct pay permits in Georgia. The proposed regulation would cause all current permits to expire on December 31, 2016, and require all current holders to reapply and agree…
For Your Health: Health-Related Information Service Not Subject to Georgia Sales and Use Tax
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By Charles Capouet and Charlie Kearns
The Georgia Department of Revenue released a letter ruling stating that a taxpayer’s health-related information service was not subject to sales and use tax. The service includes a web portal to provide health information and track the user’s personal results and the in-person performance of an annual biometric health…
A Direct Shot: Georgia Department of Revenue Proposes Regulation Eliminating Refund Interest for Direct Pay Permit Holders
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Posted in Policy and Legislation, Southeast
By Jonathan Feldman and Hanish Patel
The Georgia Department of Revenue issued a proposed regulation amending the use of direct pay permits for state and local sales and use taxes. The proposed regulation would cause all current permits to expire on December 31, 2016, and require all current holders to reapply and agree to certain…
No Appeal From Georgia Tax Tribunal’s Decision on Texas Franchise Tax
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Posted in Noteworthy Cases
By Madison Barnett and Jonathan Feldman
Eight months ago, the Georgia Tax Tribunal held in Rosenberg that the Texas franchise tax (TFT) is a tax “on or measured by income” that qualifies for the pass-through entity owner’s subtraction modification available to individual Georgia residents (See prior coverage). Practitioners have been anxiously awaiting word on…
Georgia’s Transportation Bill Signals 2016 Tax Reform
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Posted in Policy and Legislation
By Stephen Burroughs and Jonathan Feldman
Following up on our coverage of Georgia tax reform, late last night the Georgia Assembly passed a committee substitute to the House’s Transportation Funding Bill, H.B. 170. The bill represents a compromise of the House and Senate proposals, establishing a 26-cents-per-gallon excise tax on gasoline and a…
Will New Roads Lead to Georgia Tax Reform?
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Posted in Policy and Legislation
By Stephen Burroughs and Jonathan Feldman
Georgia’s Transportation Funding Bill may lead to significant tax reform for the state in 2016. In response to a nearly $1 billion transportation budget shortfall, on March 5 the Georgia House of Representatives passed H.B. 170, which would convert Georgia’s sales tax on motor fuel to a 29.2…
Rely at Your Own Risk: Taxpayer Properly Applies Georgia Regulation, Loses
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Posted in Policy and Legislation
By: Stephen Burroughs & Timothy Gustafson
The Georgia Tax Tribunal held that for sales and use tax purposes contractors are per se consumers of tangible personal property and thus are ineligible for: (1) the sale for resale exclusion, and (2) a regulatory exclusion for property temporarily stored in Georgia while in interstate commerce. The taxpayer…
Electricity Transmission and Distribution Equipment Ineligible for Georgia Sales Tax Manufacturing Exemption
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Posted in Noteworthy Cases
The Georgia Tax Tribunal has held that an electric utility’s transmission and distribution equipment was not “necessary and integral to the manufacture of tangible personal property” and thus did not qualify for an exemption from Georgia sales and use tax. See Georgia Power Company v. MacGinnitie, Dkt. No. Tax-S&UT-1403540 (Ga. Tax Tribunal, Jan. 5…
Georgia Tax Tribunal Says What Texas Comptroller Won’t
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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 taxed…