Shaking things up in state and local tax
Shaking things up in state and local tax
By Kathryn Pittman and Andrew Appleby
The Virginia Tax Commissioner determined that an ink manufacturer’s purchase of cleaning chemicals did not qualify for the industrial manufacturing exemption from sales and use tax. To avoid color contamination, the taxpayer had to regularly clean the equipment used to produce the ink with special cleaning chemicals. The taxpayer…
By Kathryn Pittman and Andrew Appleby
In a post-audit challenge by a taxpayer, the Virginia Tax Commissioner addressed entity classification, nexus and royalty add-back issues. The Commissioner found that the taxpayer did not provide sufficient evidence that its single member LLC was a disregarded entity or that certain entities were financial institutions. Turning to nexus,…
By Derek Takehara and Andrew Appleby
The Virginia Tax Commissioner issued a taxpayer-favorable ruling addressing Virginia sales and use tax on (1) computer software sold to manufacturers and (2) cloud computing services. The Commissioner determined that Virginia’s manufacturing exemption can apply to sales of computer software if the software is used directly in the manufacturer’s…
By Derek Takehara and Timothy Gustafson
The Virginia Tax Commissioner ruled that a taxpayer’s provision of electronic document and programming services in conjunction with its delivery of printed materials was not subject to sales and use tax. In addition to its sales of printed materials, the taxpayer provides electronic document services that allow customers and…
By Kathryn Pittman and Timothy Gustafson
The Virginia Tax Commissioner ruled a taxpayer’s licensing arrangements with a subsidiary intangible holding company (IHC) did not meet the unrelated party exception to Virginia’s intangible expense add-back statute. The taxpayer, a national operator and franchisor of fast food restaurants, created the IHC to hold its intangible property…
By Todd Betor and Timothy Gustafson
The Virginia Tax Commissioner ruled that the state’s intangible expense add-back exception is not all inclusive and does not apply to the gross amount of royalty payments made to a taxpayer’s affiliate based solely on the gross amount of the payments shown on another state’s tax return. The taxpayer…
By Derek Takehara and Andrew Appleby
The Virginia Tax Commissioner determined that the Department of Taxation was permitted to make net operating loss deduction (NOLD) adjustments for taxable years outside the statute of limitations because the adjustments were necessary to determine the correct federal taxable income for the taxable years at issue. The taxpayer, an…
By Todd Betor
A nonresident corporation requested a ruling from the Virginia Tax Commissioner as to whether the corporation was required to withhold Virginia state income tax and pay Virginia unemployment insurance for an employee who worked and resided in Virginia. The employee’s in-state activities consisted solely of performing legal services on behalf of the…
By Kathryn Pittman and Andrew Appleby
The Virginia Tax Commissioner found that a corporation with a single employee in Virginia who conducted work-related activities from a home office had nexus for corporate income tax purposes. The taxpayer, headquartered outside of Virginia, had one employee who conducted training at various facilities outside Virginia, but also developed…
By Jessica Kerner and Andrew Appleby
The Virginia Tax Commissioner concluded that a taxpayer was not permitted to deduct a portion of the royalties it had paid to an affiliate by narrowly construing the “subject to tax” exception to the state’s addback statute. This exception provides that the deduction will be permitted if the “corresponding…
