Read our July 2017 posts on stateandlocaltax.com or read each article by clicking on the title. For the latest coverage and commentary on state and local tax developments delivered directly to your phone, download the latest version of the Eversheds Sutherland SALT Shaker app.

• SALT Pet of the Month: Caldwell
  Meet Caldwell, the newest family member of Eversheds Sutherland Associate Todd Betor and his fiancée Michelle. Caldwell, a Kentucky gentleman, is a six-month-old Labradoodle.
• Georgia Senate Special Tax Exemption Study Committee Holds First Meeting
  The Georgia Senate Special Tax Exemption Study Committee held its initial meeting to plan evaluation of Georgia income and sales tax exemptions by December 1, 2017.
• Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other: Maine Supreme Judicial Court Holds Additional Charges for Telecommunications Services Exempt Before/After Statutory Amendment
  On June 15, 2017, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court held that property tax recovery charges and carrier cost recovery charges imposed by a telecommunications service provider of long distance telephone service on its customers were not subject to service provider tax for the tax years 2008 – 2010.
• Maine Enacts Economic Nexus Provisions for Sales Tax Purposes
  On June 21, 2017, the Maine Legislature overrode the Governor’s veto and passed legislation requiring the collection of sales tax by remote sellers.
• Maryland Tax Court Reiterates That Nonadmitted Insurance Companies Are Exempt from Maryland Corporate Income Tax
  The Maryland Tax Court granted a summary judgment motion exempting a Vermont-licensed insurance company from almost $24 million in corporate income tax, interest, and penalties.
• Marketplace Providers Are Statutorily Required to Collect Sales Tax in Minnesota and Washington
  A new landmark sales tax statute has been adopted in Minnesota, which expands sales tax collection requirements to those retailers that sell their goods on certain “marketplaces.”
• Pennsylvania Appeals Court Upholds Philadelphia Beverage Tax
  The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld the Philadelphia Beverage Tax (PBT) against a challenge by the American Beverage Association and other challengers.
• Texas Supreme Court Upholds Local Ad Valorem Tax on Stored Gas
  The Texas Supreme Court held that a non-discriminatory tax on stored gas held for future resale does not violate the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution.
• Hold the Phone! Answering Your Phone in Washington Might Cost You
  The Administrative Review and Hearings Division at the Washington Department of Revenue (the Division) determined that administrative activities qualify as business activities for purposes of applying Washington’s throw-out rule under the Washington business and occupation (B&O) tax.
• Congress Holds Hearing on Legislation to Limit State Taxation
  On July 25, 2017, the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law conducted a hearing on “No Regulation Without Representation: HR 2887 and the Growing Problem of States Regulating Beyond Their Borders.”

FEATURED PUBLICATIONS

• Eversheds Sutherland SALT Scoreboard Publication – Second Quarter 2017
  Eversheds Sutherland SALT releases the sixth edition of its SALT Scoreboard, a quarterly publication that tracks significant state tax litigation and controversy developments. This edition of the SALT Scoreboard also includes observations regarding beverage tax issues and California’s documentary transfer tax.
• Imposing Documentary Transfer Taxes in California after Ardmore
  Rarely does a subject as mundane as a documentary transfer tax become worthy of its own article. However, the June 29, 2017, decision of the California Supreme Court in 926 North Ardmore Avenue LLC v. County of Los Angeles is a worthy exception. Read this Law360 article by Eversheds Sutherland (US) attorneys Eric Coffill, Robert Merten and Nicholas Kump, which discusses three criteria that must be met in order for California’s documentary transfer tax to be imposed; background on the state’s Documentary Transfer Tax Act; The California Supreme Court’s ruling in North Ardmore v. County of Los Angeles; what’s to come.
• A Pinch of SALT: Taxes, Fees and “Something Else”: California’s Morning Star Decision
  On April 6, the Third District California Court of Appeal decided Morning Star Packing Company v. California Air Resources Board, which challenged the state’s cap-and-trade auction process as an unconstitutional tax. View this latest edition of A Pinch of SALT, by Eversheds Sutherland (US) attorneys Eric Coffill and Robert Merten, which discusses background on the California cap-and-trade case; the Morning Star opinion; what’s next?

Our SALT Team has continued to be active in presenting on dynamic, hot topics in state and local tax around the country. We have an ongoing involvement with various tax, state tax and industry-specific organizations and interest groups. Learn more about past and upcoming events.