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State & Local

  • June 02, 2025

    White House Asks DC Circ. To Halt Tariff Injunction

    The White House on Monday asked the D.C. Circuit to hit pause on a lower court ruling that found President Donald Trump's tariffs unlawful, arguing the "legally indefensible preliminary injunction" would impede sensitive trade negotiations if left unchecked.

  • June 02, 2025

    Ill. Budget Increases Taxes On Tobacco, Online Sports Books

    Illinois' Democratic-controlled General Assembly passed a $55 billion budget for fiscal 2026, including about $800 million in targeted tax hikes on tobacco, vaping and online sports betting.

  • June 02, 2025

    Calif. Construction Co. Owes Tax On Materials, OTA Says

    A California construction company owes tax on sales of materials and other goods after failing to prove its assessment should be lowered, the state Office of Tax Appeals said in a ruling released Monday.

  • June 02, 2025

    Calif. Sizzler Franchise CEO Owes $500K In Tax, OTA Says

    The president of a California company that operated multiple Sizzler restaurants is personally liable for over $500,000 in sales taxes and penalties, the state Office of Tax Appeals ruled in an opinion released Monday that upheld the state tax agency.

  • June 02, 2025

    Hawaii Suspends Tax Collections Time Limit During Appeals

    Hawaii will suspend the statute of limitations on collections of income tax, transient accommodations tax and other taxes while an appeal of an assessment is pending before the state's Taxation Board of Review or Tax Appeal Court under a bill signed by the governor.

  • June 02, 2025

    Texas Lawmakers OK Tax Exemption For Internet Access

    Texas would exempt internet access services from sales tax under an amended bill passed by lawmakers and headed to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for consideration.

  • June 02, 2025

    Colo. Creates Employee-Owned Biz Tax Breaks

    Colorado will allow up to $1 million state income tax deduction, along with other tax breaks, for employee-owned businesses under a bill signed by the governor. 

  • June 02, 2025

    Hawaii Conforms Tax Laws To Federal Code

    Hawaii conformed its income, estate and generation-skipping transfer tax laws to the Internal Revenue Code under a bill signed by the governor.

  • June 02, 2025

    Minn. Justices Prod Humana On Pharmacy Benefit Sourcing

    Minnesota Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Monday of a Humana subsidiary's arguments that sales of pharmacy benefit services attributed to the state should be sourced to a Humana unit based in Wisconsin.

  • June 02, 2025

    NJ Church Must Prove Religious Use For Tax Exemption

    A church that no longer holds services must produce evidence to show that it houses religious items to overturn a New Jersey town's denial of a tax exemption for the property, the state's tax court ruled.

  • June 02, 2025

    Feds Want 12½ Years For Ex-Ill. Speaker Convicted Of Bribery

    Prosecutors are urging an Illinois federal judge to sentence former state House Speaker Michael Madigan to prison for 12½ years for bribery, conspiracy and fraud, saying his conduct adds "another sordid chapter to Illinois' storied reputation of corruption" while Madigan, armed with more than 200 letters of support, seeks only probation.

  • June 02, 2025

    Calif. Smoke Shop Purchaser Found Liable For Biz Sales Tax

    A California business that purchased a smoke shop from the previous operator is liable for the remaining sales tax liability of that business as the successor, the state Office of Tax Appeals said in a ruling released Monday.

  • June 02, 2025

    Nebraska Tax Commission Upholds Farm's $1.89M Valuation

    A Nebraska farm valued at $1.89 million was accurately assessed in line with other agricultural property, the state's Tax Equalization and Review Commission found, rejecting claims by the property owner that it was over-assessed.

  • June 02, 2025

    Calif. Man Failed To Pay Sandwich Shop's Tax Liability

    A California man willfully failed to pay the sales tax liability of the sandwich shop in which he had 49% ownership, the state Office of Tax Appeals said in a ruling released Monday. 

  • June 02, 2025

    Mich. General Revenue Jumps By $720M Through April

    Michigan's total general fund revenue for October through April outpaced last year by $720 million, according to a report by the state Budget Office.

  • June 02, 2025

    Texas Voters To Decide On Fire-Ruined Homestead Tax Break

    Texas voters will decide whether to amend the state's constitution to authorize a temporary property tax exemption for homesteads destroyed by fire under a joint resolution approved by state lawmakers and filed with the secretary of state.

  • May 30, 2025

    Ex-Mich. Speaker, Wife To Face Nonprofit Embezzlement Trial

    Former speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives Lee Chatfield and his wife on Friday were sent to circuit court to stand trial on allegations that the former speaker misused state and campaign funds, and that the pair embezzled money from Chatfield's nonprofit to pay for their lifestyle.

  • May 30, 2025

    Nicotine Tax Dispute Heads To Texas Supreme Court

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday agreed to review a dispute over whether a vape company that sells oral nicotine products should be subject to a state tax on tobacco products.

  • May 30, 2025

    Pa. Justices Back Hospital Tax Break Despite High Salaries

    The corporate structure and high executive pay at a Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, hospital were not reason enough to take away its nonprofit, tax-exempt status, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday.

  • May 30, 2025

    DC Budget Plan Would OK Gambling, Repeal Child Tax Break

    Washington, D.C., would legalize and tax certain gambling activities and repeal its new child tax credit before it is ever used under a budget and revenue proposal that also promises cuts in services.

  • May 30, 2025

    Minn. Tax Court Blasts County Counsel For AI-Written Brief

    Counsel for a Minnesota county submitted a brief to the state tax court generated by artificial intelligence with five legal citations for cases that did not exist, the court said, referring the matter to a state disciplinary board.

  • May 30, 2025

    State & Local Tax Takeaways From May

    Many states, looking at a new fiscal year starting in July, finalized their budgets in May, with significant tax implications for individuals and businesses. New York will reduce income taxes on lower- to middle-income taxpayers. In Washington state, several measures intended to close a $16 billion shortfall include an expansion of the sales tax to digital advertising. Here, Law360 presents these and other state and local tax developments to know from the past month.

  • May 30, 2025

    AT&T Unit Loses Dispute Over Calif. Property Tax Rates

    AT&T unit Pacific Bell and other phone companies failed to prove that a California county's differing tax rates for locally assessed and state-assessed properties are unconstitutional, a state appeals court affirmed.

  • May 30, 2025

    Ind. Tax Dept. Finds Man Sought Refund On Time

    An Indiana resident who amended his state and federal tax returns to correct his income filed for a refund within the state's statute of limitations, the Department of State Revenue said, overturning an earlier determination.

  • May 30, 2025

    Mass. Can't Delay Developer's Suit Over Brownfields Credit

    Massachusetts tax officials who have taken more than two years to consider the appeal of a denied brownfields tax credit must hand over the administrative record in the case so that a developer can pursue a motion for judgment on the pleadings, a state court justice has ordered.

Expert Analysis

  • Challenge To Ill. Card Fee Law Explores Compliance Hurdles

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    A recent federal lawsuit challenging an Illinois law that will soon forbid electronic payment networks from charging fees for processing the tax and tip portions of card transactions, fleshes out the glaring compliance challenges and exposure risks financial institutions must be ready to face next summer, says Martin Kiernan at Amundsen Davis.

  • This Election, We Need To Talk About Court Process

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    In recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has markedly transformed judicial processes — from summary judgment standards to notice pleadings — which has, in turn, affected individuals’ substantive rights, and we need to consider how the upcoming presidential election may continue this pattern, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Letting The People Decide: SALT In Review

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    RSM's David Brunori offers a look at tax-related ballot questions before the voters in 16 states this fall.

  • Mental Health First Aid: A Brief Primer For Attorneys

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    Amid a growing body of research finding that attorneys face higher rates of mental illness than the general population, firms should consider setting up mental health first aid training programs to help lawyers assess mental health challenges in their colleagues and intervene with compassion, say psychologists Shawn Healy and Tracey Meyers.

  • Colorado Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3

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    In the third quarter of 2024, Colorado's banking and financial services sector faced both regulatory updates and changes to state law due to recent federal court decisions — with consequences for local governments, mortgage lenders, state-chartered trust companies and federally chartered lenders serving Colorado consumers, says Sarah Auchterlonie at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Honoring Your Learned Profession

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    About 30,000 people who took the bar exam in July will learn they passed this fall, marking a fitting time for all attorneys to remember that they are members in a specialty club of learned professionals — and the more they can keep this in mind, the more benefits they will see, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • AI May Limit Key Learning Opportunities For Young Attorneys

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    The thing that’s so powerful about artificial intelligence is also what’s most scary about it — its ability to detect patterns may curtail young attorneys’ chance to practice the lower-level work of managing cases, preventing them from ever honing the pattern recognition skills that undergird creative lawyering, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.

  • Why Now Is The Time For Law Firms To Hire Lateral Partners

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    Partner and associate mobility data from the second quarter of this year suggest that there's never been a better time in recent years for law firms to hire lateral candidates, particularly experienced partners — though this necessitates an understanding of potential red flags, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics

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    Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.

  • It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

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    Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

  • Frames Of Deference: SALT In Review

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    From a challenge to New York state regulations that follows on the end of Chevron deference to a court ruling siding with the Nebraska Revenue Department's view of a tax deduction, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.

  • Navigating A Potpourri Of Possible Transparency Act Pitfalls

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    Despite the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's continued release of guidance for complying with the Corporate Transparency Act, its interpretation remains in flux, making it important for companies to understand potentially problematic areas of ambiguity in the practical application of the law, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations

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    Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.

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