State & Local
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May 22, 2025
Fla. Can't End Tech Groups' Challenge To Social Media Law
A Florida federal judge on Thursday denied the state's motion to dismiss a complaint brought by technology groups challenging a Florida law restricting social media companies from blocking political candidates, ruling that the plaintiffs have standing to sue on behalf of their members.
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May 22, 2025
Minn. Tax Group OKs Trimming, Extending Data Center Break
Minnesota would extend a sales tax on data centers while removing electricity purchases from that exemption, and boost the state cannabis tax, under a compromise package partially agreed to Thursday by a legislative working group.
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May 22, 2025
Mich. Justices To Review Nationwide's Unitary Tax Filing Win
The Michigan Supreme Court agreed Thursday to weigh an appeal by the state's tax agency of a decision that said Nationwide entities could file their taxes as a unitary group to share tax credits among its members.
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May 22, 2025
Texas Lawmakers OK Increase In Biz Property Tax Exemption
Texas would raise the state's business personal property tax exemption fiftyfold pending the outcome of a public vote under a bill approved by state lawmakers and sent to Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday.
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May 22, 2025
Neb. Gov. Rejects Letting Districts Tax Outside Property
A Nebraska bill to let some local taxing districts impose taxes on property outside their boundaries, and to create statewide standards for inspections by public housing authorities, was vetoed by the state's governor.
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May 22, 2025
Md. Enacts Appeal Process For Digital Ad Tax
Maryland authorized companies challenging assessments of the state's tax on digital advertising to use the same administrative appeal process allowed for most other state taxes under two bills signed by the governor.
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May 22, 2025
Colorado Court Should Grant Tobacco Tax Refund, Co. Says
Colorado should be required to refund tobacco taxes it collected after exceeding state projections for a fiscal year and violating its Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, a tobacco distributor told a state court, urging it to grant the company's motion for judgment.
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May 22, 2025
Md. Establishes Payment Plans For Incarcerated Taxpayers
Maryland taxpayers who are or were incarcerated will be eligible for installment plans for tax liabilities under two bills signed by the state's Democratic governor.
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May 22, 2025
Wash. Authorizes 0.1% Local Sales Tax For Justice Initiatives
Washington state will allow local governments to levy a 0.1% sales and use tax to fund criminal justice efforts under legislation signed by its governor.
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May 22, 2025
Tenn. Revenues Through April Fall $128M From Estimates
Tennessee's general fund revenue collection from July through April lagged behind budget forecasts by $128 million, according to the state Department of Revenue.
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May 22, 2025
Ore. Lawmakers OK Extending Affordable Housing Tax Breaks
Three Oregon property tax exemptions intended to promote affordable housing would be extended under legislation passed unanimously by the state Senate and sent to the governor.
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May 22, 2025
SC Revenue Through April Up $894M From Last Year
South Carolina's gross general fund revenue from July through April beat last year's total for that period by $894 million, according to the state Board of Economic Advisors.
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May 22, 2025
Md. To Exempt Cannabis Nursery Sales From Tax
Maryland will exempt the sale of cannabis between licensed cannabis businesses and registered cannabis nurseries from sales and use tax under a bill signed by the governor.
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May 22, 2025
Ariz. General Revenue Collections Up $223M From Forecasts
Arizona's general revenue collection from July through April outpaced estimates by $223 million, according to the state Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
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May 22, 2025
Ore. Lawmakers OK Renewed Historic Preservation Credit
An expired Oregon tax credit for historic preservation would be reauthorized and limited to commercial properties under legislation passed by the state Senate and headed to the governor.
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May 22, 2025
Mich. House Approves Tax Deduction For Broadband Grants
Michigan companies could take an income tax deduction for certain broadband access grants under a bill the state House of Representatives passed.
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May 21, 2025
Wash. Gov. Signs Budget With New And Higher Taxes
Washington's governor signed a two-year $78 billion state budget that closed a $16 billion shortfall in part by raising and increasing taxes, ending weeks of speculation over whether he'd agree with his fellow Democrats in the state Legislature that a tax package was needed.
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May 22, 2025
House Republicans Send Trump's $3.8T Budget Bill To Senate
The U.S. House of Representatives voted along party lines early Thursday to approve a $3.8 trillion bill to extend and make permanent the Republican Party's 2017 tax overhaul law, clearing the measure for Senate consideration by July 4.
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May 21, 2025
Courts Can't Review Trump's Tariff Emergencies, Gov't Says
Courts can't review President Donald Trump's decision that unusual or extraordinary threats exist under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a government attorney told the U.S. Court of International Trade on Wednesday as 12 states seek to block Trump's tariffs under the law.
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May 21, 2025
Md. Creates $483M Data Services Tax, New Income Brackets
Maryland will impose a new tax on data services, worth an estimated $483 million in its first year, and add a pair of tax brackets for high-income earners under a tax package signed by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore.
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May 21, 2025
Penny's End Is Imminent, Treasury Rep Tells Tax Pact Board
The U.S. will stop producing pennies this month, a U.S. Treasury Department official announced at a Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board meeting Wednesday while pledging to help state tax administrators prepare for a potential shortage of the coins by early 2026.
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May 21, 2025
Montana Reduces Taxes On Residential, Commercial Property
Montana will lower taxes on residential and commercial property, provide property tax rebates to homeowners and implement other changes to the state's property tax regime under legislation signed by the governor.
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May 21, 2025
Miss. Couple's 'Yard Sales' Not Tax-Exempt, Court Says
A Mississippi couple who own a fireworks and Christmas tree selling business are liable for sales tax on miscellaneous items they sold at their business site, despite the couple contending the goods were being sold at tax-exempt yard sales, a state appeals court ruled.
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May 21, 2025
Mich. Justices Won't Hear Hotels' Water Rate Appeal
The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to review a Michigan town's water and sewer rates, rejecting an appeal from a group of hotels and restaurants that alleged a rate hike was an unconstitutional tax.
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May 21, 2025
Texas Lawmakers OK More Time To Pay Property Tax Bills
Texas would give some property owners more time to pay their tax bills under legislation approved by state lawmakers and headed to Gov. Greg Abbott.
Expert Analysis
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Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step
From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Shake-Ups For Courts In Different Fields: SALT In Review
From the end of Chevron deference in the courts to the planned sale of the NBA's reigning champion, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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Kentucky Tax Talk: Appeals Court Revisits Leases' Tax Effects
With better facts and greater emphasis on the Kentucky Constitution, Walgreen Co. may succeed in its latest Kentucky Court of Appeals challenge to a tax assessor's method of valuing leaseholds on real property for purposes of determining ad valorem tax, say Mark Sommer and Elizabeth Ethington at Frost Brown Todd.
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Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity
The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.
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Reading Between The Lines Of Justices' Moore Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Moore v. U.S. decision, that the Internal Revenue Code Section 965 did not violate the 16th Amendment, was narrowly tailored to minimally disrupt existing tax regimes, but the justices' various opinions leave the door open to future tax challenges and provide clues for what the battles may look like, say Caroline Ngo and Le Chen at McDermott.
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
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Another Crack In The Shield: SALT In Review
From the latest assault on a federal shield against taxing out-of-state businesses to an update on beer taxes, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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A Tale Of 2 Trump Cases: The Rule Of Law Is A Live Issue
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this week in Trump v. U.S., holding that former President Donald Trump has broad immunity from prosecution, undercuts the rule of law, while the former president’s New York hush money conviction vindicates it in eight key ways, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.
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Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.