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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the City of Reno was not entitled to file a lawsuit against streaming video providers for franchise fee payments. Reno sought damages for the streaming services providers’ alleged failure to collect franchise fees under Nevada’s Video Service Law. The court held that the law…

The Louisiana Court of Appeal, Second Circuit ruled that a city franchise fee imposed on a telecommunications company was discriminatory in violation of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 (the “Act”) where the fee was charged to a taxpayer pursuant to a bilateral contract but not charged to the taxpayer’s competitor.

The city brought a…

The Georgia Court of Appeals held that a group of telecommunications dealers that were AT&T subsidiaries (collectively “AT&T”) had standing to challenge the Georgia Department of Revenue’s (“DOR”) denial of sales tax refund claims.  Effective May 5, 2009, O.C.G.A. §§ 48-2-35 and 48-2-35.1 were amended to provide standing for “dealers” to file refund claims on…

The Colorado Department of Revenue has determined that an information technology provider’s sale of its backup service, which allowed its customers to back up business applications, files, and systems, and also included the delivery of computer servers to customers’ locations, constituted a nontaxable service.  Although the Department “considered whether the placement of [the] servers constitut[ed]…

The Nebraska Supreme Court held that a telecommunications construction company was liable for sales taxes on both its purchases of construction materials to build telecommunications infrastructure and for its subsequent sales of services installing and constructing the same telecommunications property.

Nebraska law requires a construction contractor to make an election as to whether it will…

The New York Department of Taxation and Finance recently published an advisory opinion stating that a taxpayer’s New York corporate income tax filing status should be determined by “what activity [a taxpayer] is principally engaged in” and by whether 50% of its aggregate gross receipts in a taxable reporting period are from such activities. The…

On March 2, 2020, the Oregon Tax Court held that the application of the state’s E911 Tax to a provider of interconnected VoIP services (“Taxpayer”) did not violate the Due Process and Commerce Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. The E911 Tax is imposed on each person with access to Oregon’s emergency communications system, whether through…

The Florida Department of Revenue issued a Technical Assistance Advisement concluding that an internet-based streaming video subscription service is subject to Florida’s communication services tax. The Taxpayer maintains a website where viewers can watch live or on-demand video of individuals (or, “Broadcasters”) playing video games, music or e-sports events. Among other things, the website provides…

This is the eleventh edition of the Eversheds Sutherland SALT Scoreboard, and the third edition of 2018. Each quarter, we tally the results of what we deem to be significant taxpayer wins and losses and analyze those results. This edition of the SALT Scoreboard includes a discussion of California combined reporting, insights regarding the Washington…

The Pennsylvania Board of Finance and Revenue recently published a decision regarding the sourcing of receipts and property of a satellite television provider.  The Board held that the taxpayer’s receipts from sales of satellite television services were properly included in the taxpayer’s Pennsylvania numerator based on the location of subscribers in the state.  The Board…