D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine announced on October 27th that his office filed suit against a delivery service company, claiming that the company’s workers are employees, not independent contractors.[1] The AG argues that the Company’s delivery drivers “bear all the hallmarks of employee status.”[2] This lawsuit follows another tax-related complaint filed by
Payroll Tax
California ACA 11 proposes significant corporate and personal income tax hikes to fund state single-payer healthcare system
By Timothy Gustafson, Nikki Dobay & Annie Rothschild on
Posted in California, Policy and Legislation
On January 5, members of the California Assembly introduced Assembly Constitutional Amendment (ACA) 11. The bill would impose both a new excise tax and a new payroll tax, and increase personal income tax rates to fund universal single-payer health care coverage and a health care cost control system for state residents. These new taxes…
Hire local? Washington Superior Court finds Seattle payroll expense tax constitutional
By Timothy Gustafson on
Posted in Noteworthy Cases
Addressing cross-motions for summary judgment from the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and the City of Seattle, the Superior Court of Washington for King County held that the City’s new payroll expense tax, which applies to businesses that spend $7 million or more on payroll in Seattle, is constitutionally permissible.
On July 6, 2020, the…
New Jersey Appellate Division Says No Double Taxation Without Remediation
Posted in Noteworthy Cases
New Jersey’s Appellate Division concluded that a Jersey City payroll tax violated the dormant Commerce Clause because there was no mechanism to resolve disputes if two taxing entities, in different states, impose a payroll tax on the same employee. The lower court had previously dismissed the case, ruling that the Jersey City payroll tax was…
California Supreme Court Holds Dynamex Applies Retroactively
Posted in California
On January 14, 2021, California’s Supreme Court concluded in Vasquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising Int’l, Inc. (2021) 10 Cal.5th 944, 273 Cal.Rptr.3d 741, 478 P.3d 1207 that its Dynamex decision and its use of the so-called ABC test, later codified after the passage of Assembly Bill 5, applies retroactively. The Vasquez holding subjects taxpayers, potentially even…
Oregon Ballot Measure Results: Here’s Which Portland Metro Area Ballot Measures Passed
By Nikki Dobay & Samantha Trencs on
Posted in In the News, Policy and Legislation
Two significant tax ballot measures were on the ballot for voters in the Portland area this Election Day. Here’s a look at what measures passed and which ones failed.
Failed. The Portland Metro Council Measure 26-218 proposed authorizing a payroll tax on employers for workers in the metropolitan Portland areas to fund transit improvements and…