State & Local
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August 28, 2025
Hawaii Transient Tax Is Unconstitutional, Cruise Cos. Say
The extension of Hawaii's 11% transient accommodation tax to cruise ship passengers under a new law violates the U.S. Constitution, a group of cruise companies told a U.S. district court.
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August 28, 2025
Ind. Co.'s Software Purchases Tax-Exempt, Dept. Says
A construction company operating in Indiana was wrongly taxed on purchases of computer software, the Department of State Revenue said after the business proved that several of the purchases qualified for the state's software-as-a-service exemption.
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August 28, 2025
Ind. Nonprofit Can't Get Tax Refund On Refreshments
Indiana's tax department correctly denied a nonprofit a tax refund for food, drinks and room rentals purchased for an education conference, the Department of State Revenue ruled, because the refreshments were meant for members of the organizations.
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August 28, 2025
Ind. Farmer Can't Get Tax Break For ATV Purchase
An Indiana farmer was correctly denied a sales tax break for an all-terrain vehicle he said was used to spray crops, the state's tax department said, finding he failed to prove the vehicle was used for an exempt purpose.
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August 28, 2025
Texas House OKs Lower Voter-Approval Property Tax Rate
Texas would lower its maximum property tax rate permitted by law without voter approval for larger taxing jurisdictions under a bill passed by the state House of Representatives.
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August 27, 2025
Ga. Justices Back Income Approach For Low-Income Housing
County tax assessors in Georgia may use a method known as the income approach to determine the fair market value of properties that qualify for federal low-income housing tax credits, the state Supreme Court ruled, reversing an appeals court finding.
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August 27, 2025
Minn. Justices Reject DuPont's Appeal Of $9M Tax Bill
Minnesota's tax department lawfully excluded receipts from currency hedging transactions in its apportionment of the income of chemical company DuPont, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, upholding a state tax court decision and a $9 million assessment against the company.
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August 27, 2025
Calif. Court Affirms Dept. Can Review Co. Sales Before Refund
The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration was within its rights to review a tobacco company's sales documents for excess tax reimbursement before it issued the company an excise tax refund, a state appellate court affirmed.Â
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August 27, 2025
Baker Botts Adds 2 More Lateral Partners In NY
As it touts the addition of 17 lateral partners this year so far, Baker Botts LLP announced Tuesday that it has gained a former Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP attorney focused on executive compensation and transactional tax strategy and a former McDermott Will & Schulte LLP attorney focused on public company and private equity mergers and acquisitions.
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August 27, 2025
NJ Tax Court Restores Church's Property Tax Exemption
A New Jersey town incorrectly imposed a property tax assessment on a church, the state's tax court ruled in an opinion released Wednesday, rejecting the town assessor's argument that the owner failed to timely file a required form to maintain its tax exemption.
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August 26, 2025
New DC Combined Reporting Rules Coming, Official Says
Updates to Washington, D.C.'s statutes and regulations that would specify how the district's treatment of combined groups will change under a new system in January should start being rolled out over the next few months, an attorney for the district's tax agency said Tuesday.
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August 26, 2025
The Tax Angle: Tariff Troubles, Tipped Income
From a look at the impact of rising tariffs on energy tax credits and issues arising from the deduction for taxes on tips, here's a peek into a reporter's notebook on a few developing tax stories.
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August 26, 2025
Colo. Lawmakers OK Selling Tax Credits To Raise $100M
Colorado would sell tax credits to raise up to $100 million to help bridge an expected budget gap under legislation that state lawmakers passed Tuesday, sending the bill to Gov. Jared Polis.
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August 26, 2025
Ohio Board Denies Tax Break For Church's Vacant School
A portion of a church property with a vacant school on it didn't qualify for a tax exemption, even though the property owner stated its intentions to demolish the school, the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals said.
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August 26, 2025
Ohio House Bills Seek To End Or Limit Property Taxes
Three bills introduced in the Ohio House of Representatives would eliminate property taxes by 2030, allow voters to introduce ballot initiatives to lower property taxes and increase the approval threshold for passage of certain property taxes.
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August 26, 2025
Tax Credit Dispute Sparks $1.3M Lawsuit Against Jersey City
A prominent Garden State developer filed a lawsuit against New Jersey's second-largest city, claiming the city improperly reversed its position on a longstanding tax agreement — demanding nearly $1.3 million in back payments that the developer says it does not owe.
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August 26, 2025
Calif. Senate OKs New Tax Default Property Sales Rules
California county boards of supervisors would be required to take new steps before approving the sale of a tax-defaulted property under a bill passed by the state Senate.Â
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August 26, 2025
Mass. Tax Amnesty Generated $140M, Revenue Chief Says
Massachusetts collected more than $140 million in revenue from a 60-day tax amnesty program last year, exceeding the initiative's $100 million forecast, the state Department of Revenue commissioner said Tuesday.
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August 26, 2025
Maine's Budget, Tax Chief To Retire
The commissioner of the Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services since 2019 will retire from state service, the state's governor announced Tuesday.
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August 25, 2025
Calif. Pitfall Prompted Mass.'s PL 86-272 Reg, Official Says
A California court's invalidation of guidance narrowing federal tax protections for certain online activities because that state didn't follow the rulemaking process weighed into Massachusetts' decision to propose a regulation to adopt a similar stance, a Bay State tax agency attorney said Monday.
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August 25, 2025
Ala. Counties Urge Against Changing Remote Seller Tax Rules
Alabama must keep a tax program that allows remote sellers to collect a flat rate and avoid calculating taxes across hundreds of local jurisdictions, a group representing counties in the state said Monday.
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August 25, 2025
Colo. Lawmakers OK Cuts To Business Tax Breaks
The Colorado Senate gave final passage Monday to a group of bills to cut business tax breaks as part of a package state Democrats say is needed to help fill a budget gap caused by federal tax and spending changes.
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August 25, 2025
Mich. Judge Backs 125% Recovery In Tax Foreclosure Deal
A Michigan federal judge has given the initial approval to a settlement between a proposed class of former property owners and two counties over allegations that the counties unlawfully kept surplus proceeds from the sales of their tax-foreclosed properties, a deal similar to one the same judge OK'd last week.
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August 25, 2025
Ind. Tax Court Overturns Kohl's Property Valuation Win
The Indiana Board of Tax Review incorrectly accepted a property appraisal offered by a Kohl's location despite serious flaws in the method, the state tax court ruled, reversing the board and remanding the matter back to it.
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August 25, 2025
Ex-TSA Attorney Among 3 New Lawyers At Kaplan Kirsch
A former Transportation Security Administration attorney is among three lawyers who recently joined Kaplan Kirsch LLP, a Denver-based law firm that specializes in representing state, local and tribal government agencies on projects such as airport expansions and new rail lines.
Expert Analysis
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How Attys Can Use A Therapy Model To Help Triggered Clients
Attorneys can lean on key principles from a psychotherapeutic paradigm known as the "Internal Family Systems" model to help manage triggered clients and get settlement negotiations back on track, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.
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3 Steps For In-House Counsel To Assess Litigation Claims
Before a potential economic downturn, in-house attorneys should investigate whether their company is sitting on hidden litigation claims that could unlock large recoveries to help the business withstand tough times, says Will Burgess at Hilgers Graben.
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Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Enviro To Mid-Law
Practitioners leaving a longtime government role for private practice — as when I departed the U.S. Department of Justice’s environmental enforcement division — should prioritize finding a firm that shares their principles, values their experience and will invest in their transition, says John Cruden at Beveridge & Diamond.
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NY Tax Talk: Sourcing, Retroactivity, Information Services
Attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland examine recent decisions by New York’s Tax Appeals Tribunal, Division of Taxation and Court of Appeals on location sourcing of broker-dealer receipts, a case of first impression on the retroactive application of Corporate Franchise Tax regulations and when fees for information services are excluded from taxation.
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Legal Ethics Considerations For Law Firm Pro Bono Deals
If a law firm enters into a pro bono deal with the Trump administration in exchange for avoiding or removing an executive order, it has an ethical obligation to create a written settlement agreement with specific terms, which would mitigate some potential conflict of interest problems, says Andrew Altschul at Buchanan Angeli.
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Sensible In Maine, Less So On Capitol Hill: SALT In Review
From a move afoot on Capitol Hill toward ending an important corporate tax deduction to a proposal to do away with Maine's film tax credits, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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10 Arbitrations And A 5th Circ. Ruling Flag Arb. Clause Risks
The ongoing arbitral saga of Sullivan v. Feldman, which has engendered proceedings before 10 different arbitrators in Texas and Louisiana along with last month's Fifth Circuit opinion, showcases both the risks and limitations of arbitration clauses in retainer agreements for resolving attorney-client disputes, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.
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Power To The Paralegals: The Value Of Unified State Licensing
Texas' proposal to become the latest state to license paraprofessional providers of limited legal services could help firms expand their reach and improve access to justice, but consumers, attorneys and allied legal professionals would benefit even more if similar programs across the country become more uniform, says Michael Houlberg at the University of Denver.
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10 Soft Skills Every GC Should Master
As businesses face shifting regulatory and technological uncertainty, general counsel will need to strengthen certain soft skills to succeed, from admitting when they make a mistake to maintaining a healthy dose of dispassion, says Douglas Brown at Manatt.
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An Unrestrained, Bright-Eyed View Of Legal AI's Future
Todd Itami at Covington offers a bright-eyed, laughing-all-the-way, skydive look at what the legal industry could look like after an artificial intelligence revolution, which he believes may happen much sooner and more dramatically than we expect.
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Tracking The Evolution In Litigation Finance
Despite continued innovation, litigation finance remains an immature market with borrowers recieving significantly different terms as lenders learn to value cases, which firms need a strong handle on to ensure lending terms do not overwhelm collateral value, says Robert Wilkins at Lightfoot Franklin.
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Tax Takeaways From Georgia's 2025 Legislative Session
Attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland discuss tax-related measures passed by the Georgia Legislature during the session that adjourned on April 4, which included a decrease in income tax rates, an extension of the time in which to a protest tax assessment and cleanup provisions related to launching the state’s new tax court next year.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: The Perils Of Digital Data Protocols
Though stipulated protocols governing the treatment of electronically stored information in litigation are meant to streamline discovery, recent disputes demonstrate that certain missteps in the process can lead to significant inefficiencies, say attorneys at Sidley.