State & Local
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.Â
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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May 30, 2025
Maine Revenue Falls $29M Short Of Projections Through April
Maine revenues from July through April lagged $29 million behind estimates, according to a report by the state Department of Administrative and Financial Services.
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May 30, 2025
Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Cravath, Latham
In this week's Taxation With Representation, WiseTech completes a $2.1 billion merger with E2open, Acrisure buys a payroll management company for $1.1 billion and Hailey Bieber sells her Rhode skincare and makeup company to e.l.f. beauty for $1 billion.
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May 30, 2025
Fla. Authorizes Sales Tax Exemption For Gold, Silver Coins
Florida will exempt qualifying gold and silver coins from sales tax in 2026, pending approval of certain regulations by state lawmakers, under a bill signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
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May 29, 2025
RI Senate Panel Weighs Wealth Tax, Surtax To Fix Budget Gap
Rhode Island Democrats backed a plan Thursday to create a surtax for high-income earners and a wealth tax as potential fixes for a budget gap, while Republicans pushed for a plan to require that any annual tax surplus go toward refunds.
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May 29, 2025
DC Court Blocks Trump's Tariffs As Overreach Of Power
The International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not empower the president to impose tariffs, the D.C. federal district court said Thursday, ruling that President Donald Trump's global levies are unlawful and barring his administration from enforcing them on two toymakers who challenged the policies.
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May 29, 2025
Ore. Extends Tax Breaks For Affordable Housing Development
Oregon will delay the expiration of three property tax breaks intended to help the development of affordable housing under legislation signed by Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek.
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May 29, 2025
Texas To Exempt All Intangible Personal Property From Tax
Texas will exempt all intangible personal property from property tax under a bill signed by Gov. Greg Abbott.
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May 29, 2025
Ind. Man Doesn't Owe Use Tax On Vehicle Title Transfer
An Indiana man does not owe use tax on a change in title of a vehicle from his business to himself, the state Department of Revenue ruled.
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May 29, 2025
Texas Bars Some Property Tax Hikes Above Voter-OK'd Rates
Texas will prohibit school districts from adopting property tax rates above voter-approved thresholds in response to a natural disaster if voters previously rejected a similar proposed rate increase, under a bill signed by Gov. Greg Abbott.
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May 29, 2025
NY Says Fulfillment Service Buyer Not Liable For Sales Tax
An out-of-state online retailer's use of a third party to conduct fulfillment services on its behalf doesn't render it a vendor for New York state sales and use tax purposes, the New York Department of Taxation and Finance said.
Expert Analysis
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This Election, We Need To Talk About Court Process
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.
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Letting The People Decide: SALT In Review
RSM's David Brunori offers a look at tax-related ballot questions before the voters in 16 states this fall.
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Mental Health First Aid: A Brief Primer For Attorneys
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.
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Colorado Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3
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.
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Litigation Inspiration: Honoring Your Learned Profession
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.
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AI May Limit Key Learning Opportunities For Young Attorneys
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.
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Why Now Is The Time For Law Firms To Hire Lateral Partners
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.
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Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics
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.
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It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers
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.
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Frames Of Deference: SALT In Review
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.
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Navigating A Potpourri Of Possible Transparency Act Pitfalls
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.
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How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations
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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Local Taxes And Repercussions: SALT In Review
From a study of local taxes to news that corporations will relocate to tax-friendlier places, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.