Welcome to the March 2026 edition of The BR State + Local Tax Spotlight. We know the importance of remaining up-to-date on State + Local Tax developments, which appear often and across numerous jurisdictions. Staying informed...more
3/20/2026
/ Appellate Courts ,
Apportionment ,
Comptroller ,
Grantor Trusts ,
Local Taxes ,
New Guidance ,
Sales & Use Tax ,
SALT ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Tax Planning ,
Taxation ,
Texas
Why only seek an alternative formula when you can win under the normal formula? A corporate taxpayer won under a special-industry normal apportionment formula, and it won the right to use an alternative apportionment formula...more
3/20/2026
/ Apportionment ,
Business Taxes ,
California ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Government Agencies ,
Income Taxes ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
State and Local Government ,
State Taxes ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Tax Appeals ,
Tax Litigation ,
Tax Planning ,
Taxation
Welcome to the January 2026 edition of The BR State + Local Tax Spotlight. We know the importance of remaining up-to-date on State + Local Tax developments, which appear often and across numerous jurisdictions. ...more
2/5/2026
/ Apportionment ,
B&O Tax ,
Local Taxes ,
Sales & Use Tax ,
SALT ,
State Taxes ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Tax Appeals ,
Tax Court ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Refunds
“[E]ase of administration cannot justify reading limitations into a statute that the legislature did not adopt.” So stated the Court of Appeals of the State of Washington when it ruled that a manufacturer was entitled to a...more
2/5/2026
/ Appeals ,
Manufacturers ,
Semiconductors ,
Solar Panels ,
State and Local Government ,
State Taxes ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Tax Court ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Technology Sector ,
Washington
In a case of homecourt advantage may not be worth much, the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals ruled that a vendor’s aircraft-part sales to local company Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. (“Airlines”) do not qualify for the exemption...more
We often focus on whether a levy is a tax masquerading as a fee because a state tax must be fairly apportioned under United States Constitutional precedent, while a fee is not so limited. Some “fees” can be quite material in...more
Illinois enacted a law that prohibits a credit card holder’s bank from charging or receiving interchange fees on the portions of transactions that include Illinois state or local taxes and gratuities, in effect starting July...more
The New Mexico Taxation & Revenue Department (“Department”) wrongly ignored the statutory exclusion for foreign corporations incorporated in foreign countries that do not engage in a trade or business in the United States...more
The New Orleans Collector of Revenue (“Collector”) failed in its attempts to subject music streaming services to the City’s sales tax. In Apple, Inc. v. Collector of Revenue of the City of New Orleans et. al., Docket No....more
Blank Rome’s nationally prominent State + Local Tax attorneys are thought leaders in the community as frequent guest speakers at various local and national conferences throughout the year. Our State + Local Tax attorneys...more
Alabama’s Department of Revenue (“DOR”) struck out again when it attacked related party interest transactions. In Huhtamaki, Inc. v. Alabama DOR, Docket Nos. BIT 19-890-JP, BIT 19-1091-JP (Ala. Tax Tribunal 2024), the Alabama...more
Financed transactions can result in states asserting "heads I win, tails you lose" by taking the tax at the time of sale but not accepting pain when the installment sale is busted. When a sale of tangible personal property...more
States often dig in on issues where they shouldn’t, and we see that often in the sales and use tax context (as often as with other state taxes). The Missouri Director of Revenue incorrectly assessed use tax against a...more
As the New Jersey Division of Taxation changes leadership and issues guidance regarding legislative changes, including for unity, it is time to recall some fundamentals of unity and put the unity statute change in context....more
It has long been a trap for the unwary, or a helpful tip for those in the know, that multistate income from business that is reported on a New Jersey Gross Income Tax (“GIT”) return is apportioned differently from the way...more
Trust fund taxes are typically subject to responsible person laws that provide that people who have the power to remit tax, but fail to remit, are held personally responsible for the failure. Such “trust fund” taxes have that...more
Blank Rome’s nationally prominent State + Local Tax attorneys are thought leaders in the community as frequent guest speakers at various local and national conferences throughout the year. Our State + Local Tax attorneys...more
Delaware has maintained a nearly 60-year death-grip on its lucrative funding source of abandoned and unclaimed property. Another finger on that grip was loosened by Delaware’s recent loss at the U.S. Supreme Court when...more
A Massachusetts tax auditor once said to me with pride, “They don’t call us ‘Taxachusetts’ for nothing!” when I explained that the Department’s position was unsupported. Recently, Massachusetts was reminded that its...more
We have so often heard adversaries incorrectly assert that their agencies can be judge and prosecutor in their own cause. The saying is as old as the hills that “no man shall be a judge in his own cause.” Exec. Comm’n on...more
Blank Rome’s nationally prominent State + Local Tax attorneys are thought leaders in the community as frequent guest speakers at various local and national conferences throughout the year. Our State + Local Tax attorneys...more
Blank Rome’s nationally prominent State + Local Tax attorneys are thought leaders in the community as frequent guest speakers at various local and national conferences throughout the year. Our State + Local Tax attorneys...more
New Jersey, in advance of examining the facts and the issues, has said it refuses to do its job of auditing and resolving tax disputes involving transfer pricing without imposing penalties unless you do the job for them, do...more
The Connecticut General Assembly was heading toward including taxation in the expansion of the state’s False Claims Act, Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4-274, et seq. (the “FCA”) via Senate Bill 426. Expansion of the FCA is laudable to...more
The Washington State Superior Court, Douglas County, (“Superior Court”) recently relied on the Washington State Constitution to invalidate the new Washington Capital Gains Tax (“WACGT”). Quinn/Clayton v. Washington, Douglas...more