Shaking things up in state and local tax
Shaking things up in state and local tax
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…
Upholding retroactive legislation recently enacted by the Michigan Legislature, the Michigan Court of Claims today dismissed multiple cases where taxpayers had appealed the Department of Treasury’s denial of their ability to elect three-factor apportionment under the Multistate Tax Compact. See, i.e., Taskawa America, Inc. v. Department of Treasury, Case No. 11-000077-MT (Mich. Ct.
By Nicole Boutros and Timothy Gustafson
The Michigan Supreme Court held that a taxpayer claiming a Michigan use tax exemption for sales tax “due and paid” on its purchases of tangible personal property must demonstrate that it actually paid sales tax on such property. The taxpayer provided a marine transportation service to transport asphalt and…
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By David Pope and Timothy Gustafson
The Michigan Court of Appeals held that Thomson Reuters’ sale of Checkpoint, an online tax and accounting research program, was the sale of a nontaxable information service and not tangible personal property for purposes of Michigan’s use tax. The Michigan Department of Treasury argued Checkpoint was tangible personal…
By Jessica Kerner and Pilar Mata
The Michigan Court of Claims held that cloud computing, or software as a service (SaaS), is a nontaxable service rather than a taxable use of prewritten software. The taxpayer, an insurance company, entered into various transactions that provided the taxpayer with remote access to third parties’ software. The Michigan…
By Madison Barnett and Timothy Gustafson
The Michigan Court of Appeals held that a provider of event planning and coordination services presented sufficient evidence to support its costs of performance sales factor sourcing method, under which it sourced services receipts to the location where the event occurred. Over the Department’s arguments that the taxpayer failed…
