On June 18, 2020, the Ohio Court of Appeals held that Cincinnati’s excise tax on the gross receipts generated by billboards does not violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The court found persuasive Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc. v. Director, Department of Finance of Baltimore, 223 A.3d 1050 (Md. Ct. Spec. App.
Cleveland Gets Personal Taxing Nonresident Retiree’s Stock Options
By Chelsea Marmor & Charlie Kearns on
Posted in Noteworthy Cases, State Domicile and Residency
The Ohio Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) affirmed the Cleveland Board of Income Tax Review’s (Board) decision that it properly denied a refund claim of municipal income tax paid on income from stock options that a nonresident was granted while working in the city but exercised after she retired and moved to Florida. Willacy v.
Federal Treatment Not “Controlling” but “Persuasive”: Ohio Board of Tax Appeals Holds CAT Inapplicable to Three Types of Finance Company Receipts
By Dennis Jansen & Daniel Schlueter on
Posted in In the News, Noteworthy Cases
On February 6, 2020, the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals held that a captive automobile financing company was not subject to commercial activity tax (CAT) on receipts that it earned in connection with three types of revenue streams:
- receipts from sales of retired leased vehicles,
- receipts from securitization transactions, and
- interest subvention payments.
Background:…
Ohio NBA Owner Wants Only the Net Taxed
Posted in In the News, Income Tax
The owner of an NBA arena is appealing an Ohio commercial activity tax (CAT) determination arguing that gross receipts from ticket sales of third-party events hosted at the arena are not attributable to the owner. When the arena was not being used by the Cleveland Cavaliers, the owner rented the facility to third-parties who host…
Ohio BTA Rules Communications Cabling Installation Exempt from Sales Tax
Posted in In the News
On October 22, 2019, the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) held that an insurance company was entitled to a refund of sales tax paid on its purchase of CAT-5 and CAT-6 communication cabling for internet and Voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) installed in its headquarters office building. The company purchased the cabling as part…
Ohio is Seeing Green: CAT Imposed on Out-of-State Seller’s Sales That Were Completed Out of State
By Justin Stone & Jeffrey Friedman on
Posted in In the News
The Court of Appeals of Ohio held that a Georgia-based wholesaler of lawn and garden products established nexus and its sales were properly included in the Commercial Activity Tax (CAT) base.
The taxpayer was a wholesaler of garden equipment that did not have property, employees or other presence in Ohio. The Taxpayer’s primary customers were…
US Supreme Court’s Ruling Bolsters Taxpayers’ First Amendment Right To Pass Through Fees (and Taxes)
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Posted in New York, Policy and Legislation
A recent US Supreme Court decision on surcharges strengthened taxpayers’ First Amendment rights when deciding how they present pass-through fees and taxes to their customers.
- The Supreme Court held that a New York statute prohibiting a seller from imposing a credit surcharge was a speech regulation, subject to heightened scrutiny, because it regulates how retailers
…
No Laughing Matter: Eighth Circuit Finds that Comity and the Tax Injunction Act Bar It From Hearing an Ohio Commercial Activities Tax Dispute
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Posted in Noteworthy Cases
By Chelsea Marmor and Amy Nogid
The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court and held that it lacked jurisdiction under the Tax Injunction Act and the principles of comity to “enjoin, suspend or restrain the assessment, levy or collection” of any Ohio tax where a “plain, speedy and efficient…
Ohio Supreme Court Rules that Taxing Out-of-State Investor’s Capital Gain Violates Due Process Clause
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Posted in Noteworthy Cases
By Chris Mehrmann and Leah Robinson
The Ohio Supreme Court held that the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution precluded Ohio from taxing a nonresident individual on an apportioned share of his gain from the sale of a limited liability company that conducted business in the state. During the relevant time period, Ohio Rev.
Ohio Tax Litigation Reflects Evolving Nexus Landscape
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Posted in Noteworthy Cases, Policy and Legislation
The Ohio Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in three cases that could test the constitutionality of the Ohio commercial activity tax (CAT). These cases turn on whether the CAT’s “bright-line” nexus standard violates the dormant Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. The Ohio Department of Taxation argues, among other things, that the taxpayers&rsquo…