Shaking things up in state and local tax
Shaking things up in state and local tax
By Jessica Eisenmenger and Open Weaver Banks
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals for District III upheld the Tax Appeals Commission’s decision that separating dredged material from contaminated river water into its constituent parts for the purpose of water pollution remediation constitutes “processing” of tangible personal property and is therefore a taxable service. Tetra Tech EC, …
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 Zack Atkins & Open Weaver Banks
The Utah State Tax Commission ruled that machinery and equipment purchased by the owner of a social networking community qualified for the state’s exemption for purchases and leases of certain property used in the operation of a web search portal. In connection with its proposed construction and operation…
The Georgia Tax Tribunal, in its first published decisions in more than a year, held that:
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By Mike Kerman and Charlie Kearns
The New York Department of Taxation and Finance issued an advisory opinion concluding that a taxpayer that collects and furnishes healthcare information on behalf of healthcare providers, such as medical practices and hospitals, to persons requesting copies of medical records is not performing a service subject to New York…
By Mike Kerman and Open Weaver Banks
The West Virginia Supreme Court held that a credit for taxes paid to other states on purchases of motor fuel is constitutional only if interpreted to include taxes paid to subdivisions of other states. The court determined that a credit that applies only to taxes paid to other…
By Jessica Allen and Jeff Friedman
The Tennessee Department of Revenue (Department) released a letter ruling stating that a taxpayer’s charges for use of its web-based interface are subject to sales and use tax as the sale of ancillary services. The taxpayer’s proprietary software allows users to communicate through text and other messages on a…
The Colorado Department of Revenue (Department) released a non-binding general information letter, concluding that a marketplace provider’s payment of sales tax on transactions involving “jointly responsible” third-party retailers discharges the obligations of the third-party retailers to collect and remit sales tax. By statute, the Department has discretionary authority to…
By Christopher Lutz and Jeff Friedman
On December 15, 2016, the Tennessee Joint Government Operations Committee held a hearing regarding the governor’s proposal to establish an economic nexus standard for the state sales tax. Under the proposal, remote sellers would be subject to collection obligations in the state if their Tennessee sales exceed $500,000. The…
By Stephen Burroughs and Maria Todorova
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania recently reaffirmed its decision that Level 3’s network infrastructure services (including local dial networks, telephone numbers and modems, i.e., Internet “backbone”) sold to retail Internet service providers (ISPs) constitute non-taxable Internet access services. The Commonwealth Court previously held that the taxpayer’s facility was an…
