“The best thing about being a state and local tax professional is the people. Developing relationships across the country continues to help me improve my state and local tax practice and provide the best representation for my clients.”
Chris is a partner and Chair of the State and Local Tax (SALT) group. He focuses his practice on resolving complex SALT issues and regulatory compliance matters.
Chris represents multistate and multinational companies on a range of issues, including income tax, local taxes, sales and use taxes, and taxes relating to financial institutions, insurance, telecommunications and energy companies. He has successfully represented clients at all state court levels and before administrative tribunals, nationwide.
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An active member of the SALT community, Chris is a regular lecturer and author to many major SALT institutions and their publications. He currently serves as vice chair on the committee for IPT’s Annual Conference Income Tax Section and previously worked at COST as a legal fellow.
Detailed Counsel, Always Up-to-Date
Clients rely on Chris for his sophisticated understanding of their multistate tax issues. A frequent author and lecturer, Chris is a go-to resource for many industry publications and his clients alike. While he loves learning about his clients’ businesses to better help with multistate compliance, businesses often come to Chris for his litigation experience. When the stakes are the highest, Chris’s experience and enthusiasm give clients the peace of mind to confidently resolve their issues with any state.
Education
- The George Washington University Law School, J.D. with honors
- Vassar College, B.A. in Environmental Science
Events
- Christopher T. Lutz Presents at COST’s 2023 SALT Basics School – 5/8/23March 9, 2023
On May 8, 2023, Christopher Lutz will lead a sales tax course at COST’s 2023 SALT Basics School. Chris will discuss jurisdiction to tax and cover the various restrictions on a state’s ability to impose taxes.
- Christopher T. Lutz and David A. Hughes Present at the Illinois CPA Society’s State and local Tax Conference – 1/18/23January 18, 2023
Don’t get caught in a tax trap in this fast-moving SALT landscape. Join Chris and David as they discuss cloud computing, digital products and services, sourcing and compliance insights.
- HMB’s SALT Team Presents at the 2022 IPT Sales Tax Symposium – 10/2 - 10/5September 21, 2022
Don’t miss HMB’s SALT team at the 2022 IPT Sales Tax Symposium! Christopher T. Lutz, Marilyn A. Wethekam and Samantha K. Breslow will be presenting various topics related to current state and local tax trends.
- HMB’s SALT Summer Seminar – 8/11/2022August 26, 2022
HMB’s State and Local Tax group held a seminar at one of Chicago’s favorite social clubs, SPIN. Our team was delighted to see everyone in person again to discuss all things SALT! View a recoding of the seminar and request a copy of a presentation here.
- Christopher T. Lutz Presents at COST’s 2022 SALT Basics School – 5/16/22May 10, 2022
On May 16th, Christopher T. Lutz will present, “Jurisdictions to Tax” at COST’s 2022 SALT Basics School. Chris will review the various restrictions on a state’s ability to impose taxes such as constitutional restrictions, federal legislation and judicial pronouncements.
Publications
- Kentucky Apportionment UpdateAugust 12, 2021
Effective January 1, 2021 Kentucky eliminated its Bank Franchise Tax ("BFT")and instead subjected financial institutions and financial organizations to the state's existing Corporate Income Tax ("CIT") and Limited Liability Entity Tax ("LLET").
- Chris Lutz published in State Tax Notes – What to Do With Public Law 86-272September 25, 2019
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…
blog
- Illinois' Income Taxation of Foreign IncomeJanuary 29, 2019
With the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), many taxpayers have begun to focus on the manner in which states tax foreign income. Illinois? taxation of foreign income is fairly in line with most other states. However, given how much states can diverge on this complicated issue, having a general understanding of how the state treats foreign income is necessary for any multinational business operating in Illinois.
- Illinois Corporate Income Tax- Apportioning Insurance Company IncomeNovember 27, 2018
In a previous post, we addressed the basics of Illinois corporate income tax apportionment. We also addressed how while most corporations are required to follow the standard statutory formula, the state imposes unique rules on a number of industries, including financial organizations. In addition to financial organization, insurance companies must also apportion their income to Illinois according to special rules. As with financial organizations, beginning with the tax year ending December 31, 2017, insurance companies must be included in the combined return with the entire unitary business group.
- A Multistate Perspective on Taxation of Digital ProductsNovember 13, 2018
In a General Information Letter published in 2017, Illinois addressed how its taxation of canned and custom software would apply to cloud computing. The state explained that software as a service (SaaS) is not subject to the Retailers' Occupation Tax, and SaaS providers are instead subject to the Servicemen Occupation Tax. Thus, providers of SaaS to Illinois customers will generally be subject to use tax on tangible personal property transferred as an incident to the sale of SaaS.
- Illinois' Taxation and Apportionment of Partnership Income Earned by Corporate PartnersOctober 30, 2018
Partnerships are not subject to the Illinois Income Tax. Instead, partners are taxed individually on their distributive shares from a partnership. For nonresident individual partners, only their pro rata share of the partnership's income apportioned to Illinois is taxable. Corporate partners may be required to combine the partnership income and factors in their combined business income and factors if they are unitary with the partnership. However, it is always important to keep in mind that Illinois also imposes a Replacement Tax which is generally imposed at the entity level.
- The Illinois Franchise TaxOctober 9, 2018
The Illinois Franchise Tax is a weird tax. It is imposed on the privilege of exercising a franchise in Illinois or, in the case of foreign corporations, for the authority to transact business in the state. It is administered by the Illinois Secretary of State, not the Department of Revenue, and is measured by paid-in capital. Knowing the ins and outs of the Franchise Tax is a must for any corporation doing business in the state.
