Shaking things up in state and local tax
Shaking things up in state and local tax
The Georgia General Assembly passed significant tax legislation impacting selected industries, but failed to pass a number of broader tax bills:
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By Nicole Boutros and Scott Wright
A New York State Division of Tax Appeals administrative law judge (ALJ) determined that a telecommunications provider’s electricity purchases were not exempt from sales tax as sales for resale. In so doing, the ALJ rejected the taxpayer’s assertion that it resold electricity by incorporating it into its telecommunications services…
By Evan Hamme and Tim Gustafson
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance issued an advisory opinion exempting from New York state sales tax a charge the petitioner paid to a cable company to cover the cable company’s costs to expand its cable network to bring broadband Internet to the petitioner’s rural location.…
By Samantha Trencs and Eric Tresh
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance issued an advisory opinion concluding that a detailed report of customer behavior that includes both client-specific and industry-related information is a service subject to sales and use tax. Tax Law § 1105(c)(1) imposes sales and use tax on information services…
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…
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…
By Nicole Boutros and Marc Simonetti
The Illinois Appellate Court held that a defendant out-of-state retailer was not liable under the state’s False Claims Act because it conducted a good faith inquiry into its use tax collection obligations for both its Internet and catalog sales. The defendant had franchisees operating in Illinois and sold products…
