Shaking things up in state and local tax
Shaking things up in state and local tax
By Doug Upton and Madison Barnett
The Michigan Court of Appeals held that a taxpayer was precluded from recovering sales tax it voluntary paid in response to a preliminary audit determination, even though assessment of the tax may have otherwise been barred under the four-year statute of limitations. The court reasoned that a preliminary audit…
By Chris Mehrmann and Open Weaver Banks
The Michigan Supreme Court denied an application for leave to appeal a Michigan Court of Appeals decision that sanctioned the Michigan’s Legislature’s retroactive withdrawal from the Multistate Tax Compact. The court summarily denied the appeal—which was filed by Harley Davidson Motor Company, Inc. and 13 other taxpayers—explaining that…
By Ted Friedman and Leah Robinson
The Michigan Court of Appeals reversed a trial court ruling and held that three companies did not constitute a statutorily defined “unitary business group” for Michigan Business Tax (MBT) purposes. It was undisputed that there was insufficient “direct” ownership among the companies to give rise to a “unitary business…
By Samantha Trencs and Eric Tresh
The Michigan Court of Appeals held that the mandatory apportionment provision of the Michigan Single Business Tax Act did not impliedly repeal Michigan’s enactment of the Multistate Tax Compact’s alternative apportionment election provision. In addition, the court held that the Single Business Tax (SBT) was an income tax under…
By Evan Hamme and Charlie Kearns
Purchases of “data center equipment for assembly, use, or consumption in the operations of a qualified data center” on or after January 1, 2016, are exempt from Michigan sales and use tax. M.C.L. §§ 205.54ee, 205.94cc; see generally Notice Regarding Data Center Exemption, Feb. 5, 2016…
The Michigan Department of Treasury issued a Notice announcing that it will no longer impose sales or use tax on certain prewritten computer software accessed electronically and associated online services. The Notice comes on the heels of the Michigan Court of Appeals decision in Auto-Owners Insurance Company v. Department of Treasury and the Michigan Supreme …
By Nick Kump and Charlie Kearns
On October 27, the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision in favor of the taxpayer and held that several contracts for data processing services, access to computer programs and databases, and other online services did not include the use of taxable prewritten computer software. After considering…
By Jonathan Feldman and Stephen Burroughs
A mere 28 days after oral argument, a three-judge panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a Court of Claims decision that sanctioned the Michigan Legislature’s retroactive withdrawal from the Multistate Tax Compact in 2014 PA 282, by ruling for the Michigan Department of Treasury in the…
The long saga of Michigan’s Multistate Tax Compact election continued on Wednesday with oral argument before the Michigan Court of Appeals. A packed courtroom witnessed a 1.5 hour proceeding before an active three-judge panel. The arguments focused primarily on: (1) whether legislation can retroactively repeal the state’s adoption of the Multistate Tax Compact; (2) whether…
The Michigan Supreme Court held that an electric utility’s transmission and distribution equipment used for both taxable and exempt purposes qualifies for a partial sales and use tax exemption. See Detroit Edison Co. v. Dept. of Treasury, No. 148753 (Mich. July 22, 2015). This marks the latest in a line of cases addressing whether…
