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The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the state and local tax practice in significant ways  including tax agencies, pandemic information glut, virtual client meetings and new schedules and environments. One such impact is the host of new issues to navigate, causing the practitioners to be flexible with deadlines and requirements. But this is not always the case. (more…)…

An article published by Bloomberg Law Tax discusses the possible reemergence of Gross Receipts Taxes in states due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gross receipts taxes are becoming attractive because they rely on calculations of total commercial activity rather than profitability, said Jordan M. Goodman. Jordan continued to say that, "During the COVID-19 recession you are going to see a lot…

Congratulations goes to Fred for his nomination for the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law's Adjunct Professor of the Year Award. Northwestern University is a member of the Top 14, a group of law schools that have received national recognition. Read more about Fred here. …

An article published by State Tax Notes discusses the Illinois Supreme Court's refusal to review an appellate court decision that Chicago's amusement tax as applied to online streaming services does not violate the state constitution or the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA). The court denied the petition for leave to appeal in Labell v. City of Chicago, letting stand the…

Breen was named to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee State and Local Tax Program Advisory Board. With Breen's insight, the school is looking to revitalize the SALT program as well as re-institute the SALT conference. UW-Milwaukee seeks to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to successfully pursue or advance careers within tax departments of corporations, CPA firms, law firms, and…

Two thirds of all states and the District of Columbia have, to varying degrees, legalized cannabis. With the recent addition of Illinois, eleven states now allow adult recreational use. But cannabis entrepreneurs’ rush of excitement and dreams of cashing in is met with fierce competition and economic risks that makes the dreams, which look so dank at first, end up…

Read the full article on State Tax Notes here (subscription required). In this installment of his column, Internally Consistent, Chris discusses the impact of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions affecting state sovereignty, including Hyatt and Dawson v.Steager. This was the year of remote seller nexus, marketplace facilitators, state taxation of foreign income, and market-based sourcing becoming the majority rule for…

Illinois seeks to establish a 30-day safe harbor against state income tax for nonresident employees under a recently proposed regulation that specifies how workers should calculate their number of days worked in the state. In an article by Law360, David Hughes explains how different this proposed rule is when compared to previous regulations, noting that previous regulations on taxing nonresident…

Chicago's previously hidden tax ruling exempted Moxie Software Inc. from tax collection duties under the "Cloud Tax". In an article by Bloomberg Tax, Samantha Breslow explains the discrepancy between the Cloud Tax and Chicago's stance on nexus. Because the city didn't address the question of nexus in 2015 when modifications to its Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax were made, the…

In an article published by Bloomberg Tax, Samantha Breslow delves into the challenges presented to taxpayers after Chicago's previously hidden Private Letter Rulings ("PLRs") come to light. "Historically, it has been very difficult to gain access to Chicago GILS ["General Information Letters"] or PLRs, which results in a lack of transparency for taxpayers trying to comply with city ordinances," said…

In the article, "Kansas Tax Chief Not Worried About Remote Seller Litigation" written by Law360, Breen discusses how remote sellers have been caught in a no-man's land due to political struggle. Kansas' recent remote seller policy puts a tax burden on small businesses. But despite the criticism, the state's top tax administrator, Secretary of Revenue Mark Burghart, stated that he…

Chris Lutz spoke about the Virginia Albemarle County Circuit Court's decision in Crutchfield Corp. v. Harding, in an article by Tax Notes. Chris explained that Virginia courts did not have personal jurisdiction over a Massachusetts official claiming Crutchfield had sales tax nexus with the state. The Massachusetts regulation considers the use of in-state software and cookies as constituting a physical…

Auditors in Chicago have been aggressively asserting that businesses have tax duties under the "cloud computing tax" because of their economic presence, or the volume of business they conduct within the city. In an article by Bloomberg Law News titled "State of Wayfair: Economic Thresholds Sneak Into Chicago Audits" by Michael J. Bologna, Samantha Breslow explains that the problem is…

Arizona's supreme court requires online travel companies, or OTCs, to pay local taxes on the revenue they receive for arranging hotel stays in the state. The court determined that OTCs do not qualify as being in the business of operating a hotel and thus found that the local privilege tax on hotels didn't apply. Breen spoke with Tax Notes regarding…

At the beginning of 2016, Chicago implemented a unique method to tax businesses for their use of remote computing services, also known as the cloud. The Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax program collected $13.9 million during its first six months and rose to $42.2 million through 6/30/18. In an article by Bloomberg Law News, Samantha Breslow explained that Chicago is…

State and local governments are trying to apply older tax laws to modern technologies such as streaming services. This one-size-fits-all ideology of the decades-old regulations leaves the law on shaky ground. Marilyn Wethekam discussed how shoehorning old tax laws to modern business services can be a setback at the Multistate Tax Commission's annual meeting in Boise, Idaho. "Ordinances and statutes…

The Kansas Department of Revenue will require remote sellers to collect and remit tax on sales starting October 1st. This change has small businesses worried. The change could mean a loss of business for the state. Breen Schiller, a member of HMB's State and Local Tax Group, spoke about the potential ramifications of Kansas' decision in Kan. To Tax All…

Cannabis business attorney David Ruskin was interviewed by Chicago's top legal radio show, Legal Face-Off on WGN Radio. David discussed Illinois' new recreational marijuana law and what it means for individuals and businesses. Listen to the recording on WGN Radio.…

As Illinois passes a new budget, State and Local Tax attorney Chris Lutz helps break down important changes with Law360 and Tax Notes. 3 Illinois Tax Changes Attorneys Should Know About As published by Law360 for its subscribers. Out-of-state businesses will also see a big change in local sales tax collection under the legislation. For collections of the local retailer's…

An article published by International Tax Review discusses how Judge Ralph King Anderson III will decide whether Amazon acted as a seller in a case against the US state of South Carolina, potentially making it liable for millions of dollars in back taxes. Although the parties agree that the facts of the case are not in doubt, and no trial…

An article published by State Tax Notes discusses the recent Virginia Supreme Court case, Corporate Executive Board v. Virginia Department of Taxation. Breen Schiller and Chris Lutz shared their thoughts about how this case fits into a recent line of alternative apportionment cases. The full article, "Virginia Supreme Court Affirms State's Apportionment Method," was written by Jad Chamseddine and published by…

An article published by State Tax Notes discusses how States' market-based sourcing rules are likely to undergo scrutiny in the wake of the Wayfair decision that could lead to litigation and new income tax liability. State and Local Tax attorney, Chris Lutz, said, "he doesn't expect Wayfair to have a major impact on apportionment because most states have taken the…

An article published by Tax Analysts discusses the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department failing to prove it was entitled to exclude the payroll factor from the state's apportionment formula for financial institutions. In a ruling for the taxpayer, Discover Bank, the administrative hearings office found that the department did not carry its burden showing that eliminating the payroll factor…

An article published by Bloomberg Law discusses how the Supreme Court Wayfair decision could affect dozens of lawsuits filed by prolific whistleblower Stephen B. Diamond. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed a series of motions to dismiss these cases, alleging they have minimal financial and legal relevance for the state. State and Local Tax attorney, David Ruskin, stated, "The…

An article published by Checkpoint discusses how states are responding to the South Dakota v. Wayfair  decision. Less than six months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the physical presence rule for sales and use tax nexus with its ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair, the vast majority of states have enacted or announced economic nexus policies, and the trend…