Constitutional Law › Finance & Banking › Tax Law

Supreme Court Settles Fifth Amendment Required Records Issue in Context of Offshore Bank Accounts

On May 13, 2013, the Supreme Court denied a taxpayer’s petition for certiorari regarding the Seventh Circuit’s August 27, 2012, decision applying the Required Records Exception to override the taxpayer’s Fifth Amendment...more

Court Prohibits Bond Expenditure on Stadium Lighting Because Lighting Was Not Specifically Listed as Contemplated Project

The California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, recently held that school district bond revenues could not be spent on stadium lighting where the bond proposition did not specifically list field lighting as part of...more

Court of Appeal Narrowly Reads School Bond Measure Language In Siding with Taxpayer Group’s Challenge To High School Stadium...

The California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, recently held that school district bond revenues could not be spent on stadium lighting where the bond proposition did not specifically list field lighting as part of...more

"No State Income Tax" Constitutional Amendment to be Submitted to Tennessee Voters in November 2014

On April 8, 2013, the Tennessee House of Representatives passed Senate Joint Resolution 1 by a vote of 80-8, giving final approval to a proposed constitutional amendment to ban a state income tax in Tennessee on payroll and...more

Legal Alert: A Royal Opportunity: Amendments to New York’s Royalty Expense Add-back Statute Leave the Income Exclusion Intact for...

On March 28, 2013, the New York State Legislature passed budget legislation (S.2609D/A.3009D) that replaces the existing New York State and City related - party royalty add - back requirements with provisions based on the...more

Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals Sustains Required Records Exception to the Fifth Amendment

On February 7, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the decision of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia holding that the Required Records Exception overrides a...more

California’s Attempt to Retroactively Tax its Residents

In Cutler v. Franchise Tax Board, a case litigated by Reed Smith, a California Court of Appeal held that the California property and payroll requirements of California’s Qualified Small Business Stock provisions were invalid....more

Will The Debt Ceiling Standoff End Up In Court? [Video]

Jan. 17 (Bloomberg Law) -- Bob Rice, Managing Partner at Tangent Capital Partners and a former federal prosecutor, talks with Bloomberg Law's Lee Pacchia about the potential for the debt ceiling fight to end up in the court...more

FTB Retroactively Denies "Qualified Small Business Stock" Personal Income Tax Benefits

On December 21, 2012, the Franchise Tax Board ("FTB") released Notice 2012-03 (the "FTB Notice"), which notice outlines the procedures the FTB will apply in response to the Court of Appeal's recent decision in Cutler v....more

No Oregon Income Tax Nexus For Company Owning Intangibles Used In State

A federal bankruptcy court judge has held that Washington Mutual, Inc. (WMI), a parent holding company that owned bank subsidiaries conducting business in Oregon, did not have nexus in Oregon by virtue of its ownership of the...more

Can Taxpayers Challenge the State's School Financing System?

Our preview of the September term of the Illinois Supreme Court continues with Carr v. Koch. Plaintiffs have challenged states' school financing systems on constitutional grounds for nearly two generations now. The state...more

VODAFONE case and constitutionality of Finance Bill 2012

Validity of a clause in a Finance Bill containing a validation clause that seeks to negate the effect of an Apex court judgment that would otherwise operate in favor of VODAFONE by declaring that the concerned judgment shall...more

Why 2012 Is a Great Year to Make a Philanthropic Gift

Overview On June 28, 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is constitutional. In so ruling, the Supreme Court confirmed that Congress has the power to require healthcare coverage for 30...more

Property Valuation Topics - Summer 2012

In This Summer 2012 Issue: - Governor Vetoes Revaluation Postponements - Greenwich Appoints New Assessor - In Valuation, Sometimes The Devil is in the Details - National Developments Matched to Local Market -...more

Will Proposed Amendment 4 to the Florida Constitution (On the November 2012 Ballot) Boost Florida's Economy? Independent Analysis...

In November 2012, Florida will decide whether or not to amend the state constitution with proposed Amendment 4. As for what that might mean to individual Floridians as well as Florida business interests and those developing...more

Welcome Stranger!

Generally the sale or exchange of real estate will not affect the status of the assessment on the property. This basic rule is founded upon the statutory and constitutional theory that it is inequitable and unfair to change...more

PA Budget Watch: Revenues Improve; Addback Legislation Advances

The budget picture in Pennsylvania has improved markedly, with FY 2011-12 revenue shortfall estimates being cut back from over $700 million to $300 million or less. The Senate has passed a preliminary budget restoring some...more

PA Tax Law News -- May 2012

IN THIS ISSUE: Long Awaited Tech One Associates Decision; Philadelphia Common Level Ratio Drama Continues; Court Upholds IFTA Liability; PA Budget Watch; Goodwill Included in Subsidiary Valuation for Holding Company...more

Reasserting Its Role as Final Interpreter of the Law, the Supreme Court Rejects IRS "Fighting Regulation" in United States v. Home...

On April 25, 2012, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 opinion, written by Justice Breyer, concluding that Treasury Regulation § 301.6501(e)-1(a)(iii) was invalid. The regulation required overstatements of basis to be treated as...more

MoFo New York Tax Insights - Volume 3, Issue 5 - May 2012

In This Issue: No Hearing Permitted Without a Notice of Deficiency or Refund Denial; Special Refund Authority Not Available for Claiming Time-Barred Resident Tax Credit; Tax Provisions Enacted in 2012-13 State Budget;...more

Redevelopment Agencies: Dead, But Not Buried

In California Redevelopment Assn. v. Matosantos, the California Supreme Court sealed the demise of the state’s nearly 400 redevelopment agencies. That decision, however, leaves myriad questions unresolved for communities and...more

•United States v. Home Concrete & Supply

Brief Amici Curiae Of National Federation Of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center And CATO Institute in Support Of...

Since the foundational administrative law case of Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council (1984), courts have given significant deference to executive agency interpretations of federal law. United States v. Home Concrete...more

Bond Basics for Library Districts and Other Municipal Libraries in New York State

Table Of Contents Chapter 1. Introduction . . . 1 Chapter 2. Constitutional Requirements . . . 5 Loan of Credit Prohibition . . . 5 Valid Purpose Requirement . . . 6 ...more

No Fifth Amendment Privilege For Offshore Banking Records

Under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a taxpayer may refuse to answer specific questions or produce specific records if it would violate his or her privilege against self-incrimination. In a recent appellate...more

PA Bank Shares Tax: Big News for Banks Involved in Mergers

Today, the Commonwealth Court decided the Lebanon Valley Farmers Bank case1. The case produces a big problem for banks that have, in the past six years, been involved in a merger between a bank that is a bank shares taxpayer...more