State & Local
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May 02, 2025
West Virginia Revenues Beat Forecast By $237M
West Virginia's general fund revenue from July through April exceeded estimates by $237 million but lagged behind last year during the same period by $111 million, according to a report by the state Budget Office.
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May 02, 2025
Ala. Couple Can't Deduct Costs Incurred Before Biz Operated
A couple who own a running merchandise business in Alabama can't claim a deduction for business expenses incurred before the business was operational, the Alabama Tax Tribunal ruled.Â
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May 02, 2025
Michigan Income Tax Rate Cut Triggers Weren't Hit, State Says
Michigan's personal income tax rate will remain at 4.25% for tax year 2025 because revenue triggers that can temporarily reduce the rate weren't hit for the prior fiscal year, the state Department of Treasury said.
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May 01, 2025
PepsiCo Owes $2.1M In Tax Penalties, Illinois Panel Affirms
PepsiCo was correctly assessed $2.1 million in penalties for categorizing Frito-Lay expatriates' compensation as foreign payroll that would allow the company's profits to be excluded from state income tax calculations, according to an Illinois Appellate Court panel.
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May 01, 2025
Uber Needed To Collect Tax Pre-Wayfair, Ga. Panel Affirms
Uber was required to collect and remit millions in sales taxes on behalf of drivers and customers who used its app before the Wayfair decision, a Georgia appellate panel held Thursday, ruling against the ride-hailing company and upholding a trial court decision.
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May 01, 2025
Va. Delays Tax Deadlines For Those Hit By Feb. Flooding
Virginia will allow taxpayers who were affected by winter storms and severe flooding in February until the end of this year to file state tax returns and payments, the Department of Taxation said Thursday.
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May 01, 2025
Colo. Fees Don't Violate TABOR, Appeals Panel Says
The enterprise fees in Colorado's state transportation package passed in 2021 do not violate the state's Taxpayer Bill of Rights, a state appeals court said Thursday, upholding a district court ruling and rejecting a challenge from a conservative group.
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May 01, 2025
Colo. House OKs Eliminating Deduction For Free Sports Bets
Colorado would reduce and then eliminate a tax deduction for sports betting operators for free bets placed by players under a bill passed by the state House of Representatives and referred to the state Senate's Finance Committee.
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May 01, 2025
Ind. Co. May Get OK For GILTI, Foreign Dividends Deduction
A company in Indiana that was originally assessed additional corporate income tax after being denied a $17 million deduction for dividends from foreign subsidiaries may be able to claim another deduction, the Department of State Revenue said in a letter of findings.
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May 01, 2025
Ore. Tax Court Retains Nix Of Microsoft Foreign Income Relief
The Oregon Tax Court is adhering to its finding on the treatment of Microsoft's repatriated foreign income when calculating its state income, making only minor changes to an earlier order and rejecting the company's arguments for further relief.
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May 01, 2025
Ind. Sales Tax Applies To Car Service's Rentals
An Indiana company providing car transportation services properly paid sales tax on its rentals of vehicles, the state Department of Revenue determined, finding that the company failed to prove it was entitled to a refund.Â
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May 01, 2025
Wis. Senate Bill Seeks Film Tax Credit For Wages, Expenses
Wisconsin would allow film and television production companies to claim an income and franchise tax credit for wages and expenses paid to make a movie or broadcast in the state under a bill introduced in the Senate. Â
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May 01, 2025
Texas Senate Bill Aims To Bar Green Energy Tax Exemption
Texas would prohibit municipalities from exempting renewable energy facilities from property tax under a bill passed by the state Senate.
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April 30, 2025
House Judiciary Panel OKs Broadening PL 86-272 Protections
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee advanced legislation on Wednesday that would impose more restrictions on state tax authorities to levy income taxes on out-of-state businesses, approving changes to P.L. 86-272 in the panel's portion of the federal budget reconciliation bill.
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April 30, 2025
Tribes Join Push For High Court To Review Ariz. Tax On Plant
Arizona misinterpreted federal law and threatened the sovereignty of a Native American tribe with its taxation of a natural-gas-powered plant that sits on a reservation, the tribe told the U.S. Supreme Court in a brief Wednesday.
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April 30, 2025
Sheppard Mullin Brings On Kirkland Tax Ace In Houston
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP announced Wednesday that it expanded its tax, employee benefits and trusts and estates practice with a new partner most recently with Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
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April 30, 2025
NY Sales Tax Applies To Co.'s Document Services, ALJ Rules
New York state sales tax applies to a Utah company's sales of document management products because the products are considered prewritten software, a New York administrative law judge ruled Wednesday.
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April 30, 2025
Texas Voters To Decide On Financial Transactions Tax Ban
Texas voters will decide whether to prevent the state from taxing securities transactions under a joint resolution passed by the state Senate.
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April 30, 2025
Fried Frank Taps Sidley's UK Tax Head
The former head of Sidley Austin LLP's U.K. tax practice has joined Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP's London office, where he will advise on U.K. and international tax structuring, the firm announced.
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April 30, 2025
Mont. To Cut Top Individual Income Tax Rate, Adjust Brackets
Montana will lower its top individual income tax rate, adjust tax brackets so that more income is subject to a lower tax rate and double the state's earned income tax credit under a bill signed by the governor.
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April 30, 2025
Texas House OKs Ballot Question On Banning Inheritance Tax
Texas would have voters decide if the state should create a constitutional amendment prohibiting taxes on a decedent's property or the transfer of an estate, inheritance, legacy, succession or gift under a resolution passed by the state House of Representatives.
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April 30, 2025
Colo. House OKs Extending Advanced Industry Tax Credit
Colorado's tax credit for investment in certain advanced industries would extend for five years beyond its current sunset under legislation approved Wednesday by the state House of Representatives.
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April 30, 2025
Mich. Revenues Through March Surge $466M From Last Year
Michigan's general revenue collection from October through March exceeded the same period in the previous year by $466 million, according to a report by the state Budget Office released Wednesday.
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April 30, 2025
NJ Panel Declines To Revive Tobacco Co.'s Tax Refund Claim
A tobacco company cannot revive its claim for a tax refund, a New Jersey appeals court found, agreeing with the state's tax court that 2020 amendments to a regulation limiting a royalty add-back deduction must be applied retroactively.
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April 30, 2025
Bipartisan House Members Pitch Expanded Paid Family Leave
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers unveiled legislation Wednesday that they said would expand access to paid family leave by incentivizing states to establish their own programs and facilitating the exchange of information between state and federal officials.
Expert Analysis
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Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys
Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.
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Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code
As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.
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The Pop Culture Docket: Justice Lebovits On Gilbert And Sullivan
Characters in the 19th century comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan break the rules of good lawyering by shamelessly throwing responsible critical thought to the wind, providing hilarious lessons for lawyers and judges on how to avoid a surfeit of traps and tribulations, say acting New York Supreme Court Justice Gerald Lebovits and law student Tara Scown.
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State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape
Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.
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8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney
A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.
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Challenge To Ill. Card Fee Law Explores Compliance Hurdles
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.
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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.