Read our September 2016 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 Sutherland SALT Shaker app.

• SALT Pet of the Month: Petunia
  Meet Petunia, the adorable six-month-old French Bulldog belonging to Sutherland SALT Associate Jessica Allen and her fiancé, Erik. Jessica and Erik adopted Petunia at eight weeks old, so they have enjoyed seeing her grow up!
• Minnesota DOR to Pay Taxpaper’s Attorney’s Fees from Challenging a Not “Substantially Justified” Assessment
  The Minnesota Supreme Court upheld the Minnesota Tax Court’s award of attorney’s fees to a taxpayer that had challenged the Minnesota Commissioner of Revenue’s assessment of sales and use tax.
• NYC Tax Appeals Tribunal Finds LLC Owes Real Property Transfer Tax Under Step Transaction Doctrine
  The New York City Tax Appeals Tribunal held that the Petitioner, a Delaware LLC, owed New York City real property transfer tax (RPTT) on the transfer of an interest in certain real property.
• Power to the People: Mississippi Supreme Court Upholds Right to Jury Trial in Tax Assessment Appeals
  The Supreme Court of Mississippi held that a county had the right to a jury trial in an appeal of the county’s ad valorem tax assessment. 
• Oregon Taxpayer Just Can’t Wynne – Oregon Tax Court Upholds Personal Income Tax Scheme
  The Oregon Tax Court held that Oregon was not constitutionally prohibited from determining the applicable graduated income tax rate of a part-year resident individual based on the individual’s full-year taxable income, even though a majority of that income was earned outside of the state.
• Louisiana’s “Quest” for Market-Based Sourcing Denied: Appellate Court Holds Medical Tests Performed in Texas Are Not Sourced to Louisiana
  The Louisiana Court of Appeal held that income derived from diagnostic testing of Louisiana patients’ blood samples and other medical specimens performed in Texas should be sourced to Texas for corporate income tax apportionment purposes.

• Michigan Supreme Court Denies Tax Compact Appeal
  The Michigan Supreme Court denied an application for leave to appeal a Michigan Court of Appeals decision that sanctioned the Michigan’s Legislature’s retroactive withdrawal from the Multistate Tax Compact.