State and Local Tax

House Bill 3394, approved by the Governor on August 27, 2019 and effective immediately (Public Act 100-589), amends the Business Corporation Act of 1983 (“BCA”) to add new Section 8.12 and amend Section 14.05.

In a prior post, I explained the basics of the Chicago Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (“Transaction Tax”), including the applicability of the tax to tangible personal property and software, potentially applicable exemptions and exclusions from the tax, and collection issues. This follow-up post in the Practitioner Series further clarifies the application of the Transaction Tax to “cloud” software products and explores the interplay with the Illinois Retailers’ Occupation Tax (“ROT”).

The "Parking Lot Tax" has recently been targeted by the Cook County Department of Revenue. In the past 3-5 years, we have seen a significant uptick in the Department's audit activity, and challenges to Taxpayer positions. Their efforts have primarily focused on the enforcement of its Amusement, Tobacco, and Gasoline and Diesel Taxes. However, more recently, the Department has turned its attention to its Parking Lot Tax.

Illinois? treatment of leases is an anomaly when compared to almost all other jurisdictions. While most jurisdictions impose sales tax on the lease receipts collected from the lessee, the user of the equipment, Illinois differs by treating the lessor as the user of the equipment. As such, the lessor is subject to Illinois use tax.

A recent national trend in the practice field of state and local tax has been the uptick in local jurisdictions' audit activity. The Cook County Department of Revenue has taken aggressive positions in the interpretation of its tax ordinances which has led to increased litigation in the administrative proceedings before the Cook County Department of Administrative Hearings. This post provides an overview of the Department's audit and ensuing D.O.A.H. processes and will highlight some of the procedural differences compared to other jurisdictions such as Chicago and Illinois.

Three years ago, Illinoisans cheered the changes to the motor vehicle leasing law that were to lead to tax savings for lessees and level the playing field with other state's leasing laws. Now, as the first wave of three-year leases comes to an end, lessors can no longer afford to overlook these changes regarding the post-lease charges.

With no formal announcement it appears that the City of Chicago Department of Finance (?City?) has changed the terms of its voluntary disclosure program (?VDA Program?).

Today marks the first time in over two years that Illinois will be operating under a budget. This is a result after the House voted to override Governor Rauner?s veto of Senate Bill 9. The House garnered the necessary votes to end the two year stalemate full of political puffery and sparring. Some of the relevant changes that Illinois? taxpayers should be aware of are noted below. All changes are effective July 1, 2017, unless otherwise noted.

The City of Chicago imposes an amusement tax (?Amusement Tax? or ?Ordinance?) on the patrons of any amusement within Chicago based on ?the admission fees or other charges for the privilege to enter, witness, view or participate in the amusement.? Municipal Code of Chicago (?M.C.C.?) ? 4-156-020. The tax is nine-percent (9%) of the ?admission fees or other charges.? M.C.C. ? 4-156-010. But is this tax legal?

On October 23, 2014, Judge Mulroy, a Cook County Circuit Court judge, ruled against Schad, Diamond & Shedden, P.C. ("Diamond") in one of the hundreds of qui tam tax cases that Diamond currently has pending before him. During a two-day bench trial in August, National Business Furniture's financial officers said they had relied on a completed Illinois Department of Revenue…

Quinn signed into law the Illinois "Amazon tax" that requires the online retailer with affiliates in Illinois to collect a ?use tax? for all sales to Illinois customers. Illinois' first attempt at an Amazon law was struck down by the Illinois Supreme Court under the U.S. Constitution?s Supremacy Clause, which prohibits States from passing laws that conflict with federal law. Illinois? original affiliate tax fell because it directly conflicted with the Internet Tax Freedom Act, a federal law that prohibits discrimination against electronic commerce...

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…

1/31/20 Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa Lake Buena Vista, FL Jordan Goodman will explore "classic" ongoing multistate tax issues at the 2020 National Multistate Tax Symposium. Attendees will learn how their business may cope and prepare to defend state audits or assessments arising from this mixed bag of multistate tax issues. Topics covered in this session include: Tax issues…

1/30/20 Disney's Grand Floridian Orlando, FL Marilyn Wethekam, with a panel of experts, will discuss the various state and local tax responses to Wayfair including the role of Congress and the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board. The panel will address the day to day considerations for related tax compliance as well as emerging issues over record-keeping and audit exposure. Click here…

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…

Read the full article on Tax Notes here (subscription required). Samantha Breslow discusses how the sluggishness of legislation does not often adjust itself to the speed and terminology of technology. However, there are a few states that are adapting to overcome the discrepancies. Download a PDF of the full article here. Debugging the (State Tax) Code: Outdated Sales Tax Terminology…

12/06/19 Clayton State University Morrow, Georgia Jordan will answer the question: Are all businesses subject to all taxes in all states after Wayfair? This presentation at Clayton State University will review the various jurisdictional standards and what is left to protect businesses in 2020 and beyond. Click here to register for the event.…

12/16/19-12/17/19 New York City, NY Jordan will advise practitioners and in-house employees on what they can ethically do with respect to SALT work at the NYU School of Professional Studies. Jordan will discuss tax returns to negotiation or settlement, and everything else in between. Click here to register for the event. Click here to request a copy of the presentation…

Read the full article on Tax Notes here (subscription required). Marilyn Wethekam discusses how federal tax reforms do not always coincide with state tax policies. Download the full article here. The 2017 enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made significant changes to the federal tax system. One of the drivers for the reform was to make the United States…

Read the full article on Tax Notes here (subscription required). Breen Schiller, Stephen J. Jasper, Mitchell A. Newmark and Carley A. Roberts discuss businesses entering new jurisdictions. Breen explains Chicago's unique Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax and how it affects businesses operating in the city. Download a PDF of the full article here. Chicago Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax For…

1/27/20 Atlanta, GA In this presentation at the COST 2020 SALT Basics School, Breen will give an overview of major state taxes and state revenue programs. Attendees will walk away with a greater knowledge of: Income/franchise tax Sales/use tax Property and employment tax Credits, incentives and unclaimed property Jurisdiction and nexus Click here to register for the event.…

1/28/20 Columbus, OH In this highly interactive presentation at the Manufacturer's Education Council, Breen will discuss how tax professionals should act in an era of changing standards on professional behavior and how new governmental professional standards affect private practitioners, in-house professionals and government employees working in the tax field. Changes to IRS Circular 230 Federal whistleblower and false claims rules…

From Houston to Memphis and Minneapolis to Chicago, HMB's SALT Group gave insightful tax presentations throughout the year as a part of the 2019 Brewery Series. Hosted in breweries instead of boardrooms, the 2019 series was a refreshing way for businesses to stay in the know about state and local tax. Pictured above: (L-R) Breen Schiller, Chris Lutz and David…

Breen Schiller is named Chair of the 2020 IPT Sales Tax Symposium. The Institute for Professionals in Taxation® (IPT) serves members throughout the United States and Canada by providing educational tax resources. Members come from corporate, firm and taxpayer backgrounds. IPT's annual Sales Tax Symposium connects experts in the tax industry with professionals in sales and use tax. The symposium takes…

11/7/19 Stephens Convention Center Rosemont, IL While there has been much discussion about a possible graduated income tax in Illinois, the General Assembly has also been busy on the sales and use tax side. From new rules for marketplace sellers and facilitators to sales sourcing for remote vendors to an expanded manufacturing exemption, the General Assembly recently passed several significant…

11/11/19 Austin, TX In "Post-Wayfair World - Now What?", Jordan Goodman will discuss how remote sellers were affected by the USSC overruling of Quill in June 2018.  This presentation will try to clarify when a business is subject to any of a state's taxes. In "Sea to Shining Sea - What is Happening in the SALT World", Jordan will highlight…

11/07/19 Suburban Collection Showplace Novi, MI In this presentation for MICPA, Jordan Goodman will cover the recent happenings in state and local tax with a focus on the Midwest states. It will highlight the GOOD things that happened for Taxpayers both judicially and legislatively and will inform attendees on the BAD issues that they and their clients should try to…

11/20/19 Penn State Great Valley Malvern, PA Marilyn Wethekam and Chris Lutz will discuss P.L. 860272 in a post-Wayfair world at the 2019 TEI Philadelphia SALT Seminar. Register for the event here.…

10/20/19-10/22/19 Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead Atlanta, GA While the US Supreme Court’s decision in Wayfair has dominated recent headlines, there is a lot more happening in the SALT world that you and your clients need to know about.  In this session for AGN International, David and Jordan will explore current SALT developments and trends with an emphasis on recent…

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…

10/29/19 Loews Vanderbilt Hotel Nashville, TN Breen Schiller discusses how for any business, the scariest tax is the one it doesn’t know about, and with counties, cities, and other local governments looking for new sources of revenue, there are more land mines out there than ever. This panel will discuss some of the more far-reaching but under-reported local taxes that…

11/07/19 Chicago, IL Breen Schiller discusses how more states are adopting mandatory unitary combined reporting into their corporate tax regimes including New Jersey, Kentucky and New Mexico.  Taxpayers need to be proactive and familiarize themselves with certain challenges and changes that arise in combined reporting regimes.  This presentation will provide an overview of the new combined reporting regimes as well…

10/23/19 Chicago, IL David A. Hughes will present "Unclaimed Property Enforcement in Illinois and Multistate Audits" with BDO. Two reporting cycles have passed since Illinois adopted its unclaimed property law changes, including elimination of the Illinois business-to-business exemption for vendor payments and customer credits. This webinar will focus on Illinois efforts to enforce its new unclaimed property regime, including a…

Read the full article on State Tax Notes here (subscription required). In his new column on State Tax Notes, Chris discusses how states and Congress should address challenges presented by Public Law 86-272 and criticizes state efforts to interpret the law out of existence. In the past 15 years, the state corporate income tax landscape has undergone significant change. Although…

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…

09/23/19 Orlando, FL Breen Schiller, Marilyn Wethekam, Jordan Goodman, Chris Lutz and David Machemer present various topics at the IPT Sales Tax Symposium. Breen serves as Vice Chair of the symposium. If you would like to attend or have questions about a presentation, click here to contact Breen, Marilyn, Jordan, Chris and David. Marilyn Wethekam presents "Mergers & Acquisitions -…

After serving as Vice Chair of the Chicago Bar Association's SALT committee last year, Samantha Breslow has been appointed as the 2019-2020 Chair. Learn more about Chicago Bar Association here.…

Starting October 1st, 2019, two new Amnesty programs will arrive in Illinois. One will cover all taxes administered by the Department of Revenue. The other program will cover franchise taxes. Before these programs come into play, members of the HMB State and Local Tax practice provide insight into what these changes will look like. Taxes Administered by Department of Revenue…

10/24/19 JW Marriott Washington, DC Fred and Marilyn will co-present with fellow Paul Frankel Award recipients at COST's 50th annual meeting. Over his long career, Paul Frankel, the "Godfather of COST", spearheaded a number of issues that evolved over the years. In this session, presenters will discuss those issues, their evolution and Paul's impact on them. If you want to…

12/17/19 Grand Hyatt New York on 42nd Street New York City, NY New York University's 37th Institute on State and Local Taxation Fred Marcus will present "Today in Taxes" at New York University's 37th Institute on State and Local Taxation on December 17th, 2019. The most important SALT developments will be discussed throughout the event by a team of industry…

11/15/19 Tax Strategies 2019 Hotel Allegro Chicago, IL David Hughes will present "State and Local Tax Issues in Corporate M&A Transactions" for Practising Law Institute at Tax Strategies 2019 on November 15th, 2019. The presentation will address state and local tax issues that arise in corporate transactions with a particular emphasis on Section 338(h)(10) sales and tax-free reorganizations and spin-offs.…

9/11/19 2019 North East State Tax Officers Association Annual Meeting Roger Williams Park Providence, Rhode Island Marilyn Wethekam will discuss important state tax policy issues including final IRS regulations on federal charitable contributions and state law enactment of state tax credit for these federal deductions, “qui tam” cases involving taxation pros and cons and a recap of Taxpayer Advocates in…

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…

Disclosing tax return information has always been a dicey topic. Under the guise of transparency, there have been several proposals by tax advocates over the years to disclose tax information. The focus of these proposals has generally been on the taxes paid by corporate America and the use of tax planning strategies. As a general principle, this type of limited…

Illinois’ tax treatment of leases is an anomaly when compared to most other jurisdictions.[1] The general rule in most jurisdictions is to impose sales tax on the receipts collected from the lessee, the actual user of the equipment. However, Illinois differs, at least in the context of a long-term lease (i.e., more than one year), by treating the lessor of…

8/7/19 The Multistate Tax Commission 52nd Annual Meeting The Grove Hotel Boise, Idaho A panel discussion addressing the challenges faced by both state and local taxing authorities to modernize their tax structures to address the changing landscape of digital products and other business models. The discussion is from the view of both tax administrators and tax practitioners.…

7/31/19 COST Southwest/West Regional State Tax Seminar Sponsored by HMB Legal Counsel Sam's Club Home Office Bentonville, Arkansas Presenting an update on significant state tax issues for the Southwest/West States: Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. Federal Tax Reform – State Tax Conformity Or Not? With Marilyn Wethekam State Taxation…

2019 State and Local Tax Workshop for Technology Companies Foster City, California Beware of the Locals—They Might Take You by Surprise With Jordan Goodman San Francisco, Mountain View, Portland, Seattle—what are these cities thinking? Each has aggressively targeted businesses (and, in many situations, exclusively tech businesses) for new revenue. This panel will provide an overview of several of these new…

6/27/19 Saddle & Cycle Club Chicago, IL David Hughes presents "Indirect and Operational Tax" at the Chicago Tax Club's Summer Seminar on June 27th. The presentation reviews recent state cases that defy logic and would cause any tax professional to think twice about whether the positions they take are on solid ground. Click here to learn more about the seminar.…

As you may be aware, the Illinois legislature recently completed its 2019 legislative session. This session was particularly productive from a tax legislation perspective and we would like to update you on the key state and local tax changes that may affect you or your business. Please do not hesitate to contact any member of the HMB SALT team if…

Spring 2019 Start-Up Conference Start-Up: State Tax Roundtable for Utilities & Power New York, New York Breen Schiller and Chris Lutz Present "Combined Reporting and the Unitary Business Principle, with a focus on Regulated and Unregulated Groups" at Spring 2019 Start-Up Conference…

5/15/19 Georgetown University Law Center Washington, DC Breen and Chris will discuss income tax and cryptocurrency at the 42nd Annual Advanced State and Local Tax Institute. Georgetown Law will host the event, and offers two full days of SALT sessions for attendees. If you have questions about the presentation, click here to contact Breen and Chris.…

5/15/19 - 5/16/19 42nd Advanced State and Local Tax Institute Georgetown University Law Center Washington, D.C. Breen Schiller, "Income Tax: A National Overview" - 5/15/19, 12:45pm-1:45pm Learn the current status of states' continued migration to combined reporting, and gain an in-depth understanding of specific states' recent adoptions, such as those by Kentucky and New Jersey Understand common and divergent trends…

5/14/19 State Tax Round Up for Utilities and Power New York, NY Marilyn Wethkam conducts adetailed discussion of the issues that arise as a result of the states' application of IRC section 163 (j) bot in a regulated and non-regulated setting.…

5/7/19 Salvatore’s Italian Garden Buffalo, NY David Hughes presents "Multi-State Taxation" at the 60th Annual TEI Upstate New York Tax Conference. The all-day event hosts speakers from across the United States who will discuss tax and tax-related topics. Click here to learn more about the conference. Click here to contact David with questions.…

5/1/19 Chicago, IL David Hughes is a faculty member for Sales Tax Institute's Advanced Sales and Use Tax Advanced Workshop. David discusses taxation services, the construction industry and gross receipts taxes. Click here to learn more about Advanced Sales Use Tax Workshops. Click here to contact David with questions.…

4/24/19 Dallas chapter of Tax Executives Institute Dallas, TX Jordan Goodman and Marilyn Wethekam will lead a detailed discussion of the key SALT cases.…

5/6/19 - 5/8/19 Houston Chapter of Tax Executives Institute Hyatt Regency Houston Houston, Texas Marilyn Wethekam will conduct a detailed discussion of the key SALT cases of 2019 and their impact.…

Everyone loves a sequel, right? What's old is new these days with remakes taking the box office by storm as well as dominating people's DVRs. The same can be said for the state tax world. A large number of my picks for this year's noteworthy income tax decisions are appeals from previous years' decisions. The following cases are ones that…

3/12/19 Ritz-Carlton new Orleans New Orleans, LA David Hughes presents "Market Based Sourcing" at the ABA/IPT Advanced State Income, Sales/Use & Property Tax Seminar in March. The seminar is designed with attorneys, accountants, tax directors state and local tax managers, government tax officials, appraisers, property tax managers, commercial and industrial property managers and others interested in state and local income,…

Live Webinar At the end of this Webinar, participants will: Appreciate the numerous ways states are trying to tax out-of-state sellers Be aware of the "single state" attack on Quill and potential ramifications associated with its demise Understand the constitutional hurdles that a state must overcome to reverse Quill…

Council On State Taxation (COST) Sales Tax Conference & Audit Session San Antonio, TX - 3/1/17 Early Morning Ethics Coffee Talk: Ethics and Professional Responsibilities for Transaction Tax Professionals It's never too early to learn about ethics.  Come to this early morning session and be entertained by these speakers as they cover new and breaking ethical issues related to transactional…

Join us for our 15th Annual HMB Summer Camp!  A full-day conference presented exclusively to HMB's valued clients and invited guests.  Discover the latest issues, evaluate important updates and gain valuable insight from our seasoned professionals. Click here to request a PDF of the presentation. Agenda 8:00 - 8:30am - Registration & Continental Breakfast 8:30 - 8:45am - Welcome and…

An Illinois court September 3 dismissed a suit against out-of-state wine sellers and held that a state liquor law did not require the sellers to collect local sales and use taxes. In Stephen B. Diamond PC v. 1-800-Flowers.com, an Illinois attorney filed a qui tam complaint in the Circuit Court of Cook County on behalf of the state alleging that a group…