On January 26, 2017, the Delaware House approved comprehensive unclaimed property rewrite legislation (SB 13) that was passed by the Senate (with committee amendments) last week. Our summary of many of the key provisions of...more
On Saturday, January 14, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Task Force on State and Local Taxation (Task Force) met in Scottsdale, Arizona to discuss many of the key legislative issues that are likely to be...more
The Delaware General Assembly has introduced legislation that would significantly rewrite the Delaware unclaimed property statute by repealing the three current subchapters and replacing them with a single unclaimed property...more
On December 12, 2016 the US Supreme Court announced that it denied certiorari in Direct Marketing Association v. Brohl, which was on appeal from the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. The denied petitions were filed...more
The fourth iteration of a uniform unclaimed property act—entitled the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (RUUPA or Act)—has been finalized by the Uniform Law Commission for state enactment. The new Prefatory Note,...more
On November 17, 2016, the Ohio Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated slip opinions in the three companion cases challenging Ohio’s Commercial Activity Tax (CAT) economic nexus standard. See Crutchfield Corp. v. Testa,...more
After the highly publicized administrative lease transaction and amusement tax expansions in Chicago last year, more cities around the country are taking steps to impose transaction taxes on the sale or rental of digital...more
Another federal judge slams Delaware’s unclaimed property audit methodology but rejects the holder’s reliance on the priority rules as a defense to the audit demands. See Marathon Petroleum Corp. et al. v. Cook et al., No....more
9/29/2016
/ Audits ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure To State A Claim ,
Fourth Amendment ,
Information Requests ,
Out-of-State Companies ,
Preemption ,
Priority Rules ,
Ripeness ,
Standing ,
State and Local Government ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Unclaimed Property
Moments ago, the United States House of Representatives (House) passed the Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act of 2015 (H.R. 2315) Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act of 2015 (H.R. 2315) by...more
The court case challenging Delaware’s unclaimed property audit methodologies has settled following an opinion brutalizing Delaware’s position. This settlement leaves the US District Court for the District of Delaware...more
On July 14, 2016, Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) introduced the No Regulation Without Representation Act of 2016 (H.R. 5893) in the US House of Representatives (House). The bill would codify the physical presence...more
On July 13, 2016, a legislative conference committee was appointed to approve an already agreed-upon $1.3 billion revenue package, which was immediately approved by both the House (116-75) and Senate (28-22) and sent to...more
On June 28, 2016, the much-anticipated memorandum opinion of the US District Court for the District of Delaware in Temple-Inland, Inc. v. Cook et al., No. 14-654-GMS was released on the parties’ cross-motions for summary...more
7/1/2016
/ Amended Complaints ,
Audits ,
Commerce Clause ,
Cross Motions ,
Due Process ,
Escheat ,
Ex Post Facto Clause ,
Extrapolation ,
Full Faith and Credit Clause ,
Summary Judgment ,
Takings Clause ,
Unclaimed Property
On June 16, 2016, the Tennessee Department of Revenue (DOR) submitted a new sales and use tax regulation for publication titled “Out-of-State Dealers” that would administratively create an economic nexus threshold. While the...more
On May 31, 2016, the Washington Department of Revenue (DOR) Appeals Division released a Determination (No. 15-0251, 35 WTD 230) denying a German pharmaceutical company’s business and occupation tax (B&O) protest. The...more
6/17/2016
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
B&O Tax ,
Commerce Clause ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Department of Revenue ,
Determination Letter ,
Dormant Commerce Clause ,
Double Taxation ,
Due Process ,
Economic Presence Nexus ,
Foreign Commerce Clause ,
Germany ,
Lack of Authority ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Royalties ,
Tax Treaty
Ever since Alabama’s new economic nexus regulation went into effect, litigation over its constitutionality has been expected given that Alabama Commissioner Julie Magee and Governor Bentley said as much when announcing it...more
6/16/2016
/ Appeals ,
Commerce Clause ,
Department of Revenue ,
Federal Question Jurisdiction ,
Internet Retailers ,
Look-Back Measurement Period ,
Nexus ,
Notice of Appeal ,
Physical Presence Test ,
Remand ,
Removal ,
Sales & Use Tax ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Tax Tribunal
Background -
As detailed in our blog last month, MoneyGram Payment Systems, Inc. (MoneyGram) is stuck in between a rock and a hard place as states continue to duel with Delaware over the proper classification of (and...more
On May 20, 2016, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts published proposed amendments to 34 Tex. Admin. Code 3.584 – relating to the reduced rate available under the Texas Franchise Tax for retailers and wholesalers – in...more
Litigation over unclaimed property rules and obligations continues to accelerate. The first quarter of 2016 brought developments in several cases, including a much-watched contest over merchandise credits and a new battle...more
On April 29, 2016, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals handed the Department of Revenue (Department) a significant loss in their continued attempt to tax non-enumerated services and tangible property provided in conjunction...more
Last month, a much-anticipated bill drafted by the Alabama Department of Revenue (Department) was introduced in the Alabama Senate that would have expanded the definition of tangible personal property to include “digital...more
Last week, the California Supreme Court denied the State Board of Equalization’s (BOE’s) petition for review in Lucent Technologies, Inc. v. State Bd. of Equalization, No. S230657 (petition for review denied Jan. 20, 2016)....more
After refusing to back down on the issue for years, the Michigan Department of Treasury (Department) issued guidance last week to taxpayers announcing a change in its policy on the sales and use taxation of remotely accessed...more