State & Local
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July 31, 2025
Mich. Supporters Say High Earner Ballot Initiative Moves On
Supporters of a proposed constitutional amendment in Michigan that would levy an additional 5% tax on income over $500,000 are prepared to move forward in their efforts to put the initiative on the ballot despite a split vote Thursday from an advisory board.
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July 31, 2025
Tax Court OKs IRS Penalties On Captive Insurance Deductions
A Florida business must pay penalties for underreporting six years of income, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Thursday, finding it couldn't take deductions for payments to a microcaptive insurance arrangement that didn't actually qualify as insurance.
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July 31, 2025
La. Board Allows Oil Co.'s Late Appraisal In Assessment Fight
A Phillips 66 oil refinery can submit an appraisal of its property ordered before its assessment challenge was filed even though the company didn't receive the appraisal until after the deadline for evidence, the Louisiana Board of Tax Appeals ruled, reversing the state Tax Commission.
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July 31, 2025
Chevron's $14.8M Apportionment Claim Rejected In Oregon
Chevron may not include commodity hedging receipts in apportionment calculations for its Oregon corporation excise taxes, the state's tax court said, rejecting the company's claim for a $14.8 million refund.
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July 31, 2025
Co. Pitches $33B Data Center Hub In Ariz. Opportunity Zone
One of the largest private landowners in Arizona on Thursday pitched a $33 billion project to build the biggest data center industrial park in the state on a 3,300-acre site in a federal opportunity zone.
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July 31, 2025
Ohio Bill Seeks To Allow County Pot Taxes Via Referendum
Ohio would authorize counties to impose an excise tax on the sale of adult-use marijuana if the tax is approved by a majority of voters via a ballot measure in a general or special election under a bill introduced in the state Senate.
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July 31, 2025
La. Co.'s Tobacco Wraps Not Subject To Higher Excise Rate
Louisiana's increased tobacco excise tax rate doesn't apply to a tobacco wholesaler's sales of wraps because the wraps are considered nonsmoking tobacco products, the state Board of Tax Appeals found, overruling the state Department of Revenue.
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July 31, 2025
Ore. Farm Tax Break Wrongly Denied, Court Says
An Oregon property was wrongly disqualified from a tax break for farm use, the state's tax court said, agreeing with the owners that the county assessor failed to take the required steps for its decision, including a site visit.
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July 31, 2025
Ind. Meat Co. Can Have Use Exemption, Dept. Says In Reversal
An Indiana meat packing company should be allowed a use tax exemption for cooler and freezer equipment because the equipment qualifies for a predominant use exemption, the Department of State Revenue said, reversing its earlier determination.
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July 30, 2025
Peacock Says Maryland's Digital Ad Tax Violates ITFA
Maryland's digital advertising tax violates the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act by applying only to electronic commerce, Peacock TV told the state tax court Wednesday, providing witnesses who highlighted similarities between digital and traditional advertising methods.
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July 30, 2025
Tax Overhaul Is Mixed Bag For Interest Expense Deductions
Companies that are eager to increase their interest expense deductions under the new federal tax overhaul may end up with a smaller tax break than expected due to how the law factors their foreign income into the deduction calculation.
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July 30, 2025
Groups Warn IRS Policy Shift Could Beget Dark Money Deluge
Leaders of national nonprofit organizations said Wednesday that the IRS' efforts to weaken a 71-year-old tax law banning churches from endorsing political candidates would lead to unlimited amounts of untraceable campaign contributions flowing through the nonprofit sector.
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July 30, 2025
Dechert Adds Tax Pro From PwC In DC
Dechert LLP has continued to grow its financial services platform in Washington, D.C., with the hire of a partner from PwC.
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July 30, 2025
Ore. Clarifies Info Disclosure For Enterprise Zone Tax Breaks
Oregon specified which of a business's records are exempt from disclosure when applying for an enterprise zone property tax exemption and clarified eligibility requirements under a bill signed by the governor.
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July 30, 2025
Car Dealer Seeks Oral Arguments In Ohio High Court Tax Fight
A West Virginia car dealer should be able to present its case in its Ohio commercial activity tax fight to the Ohio Supreme Court in oral arguments, the dealer told the justices Wednesday.
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July 30, 2025
Michigan General Revenue Through June Up $901M
Michigan's general revenue fund revenue from October through June outpaced last year's collection by $901 million, according to the State Budget Office in a report released Wednesday.
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July 29, 2025
Conn. Resident Asks NY Panel To Negate Tax On Remote Work
A Connecticut resident who teaches at a New York university asked a New York state appeals court to grant him a tax refund for days he worked from home, arguing the state unconstitutionally stretched its taxing authority into Connecticut, according to a petition made public Tuesday.
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July 29, 2025
Mass. Couple's Push For Lower Home Value Falls Short
A Massachusetts couple's claim that their home was dated and overvalued by a local assessor was rejected by a state board, which found shortcomings in their sales comparison analysis.
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July 29, 2025
DC Council Rejects Capital Gains Tax Boost In Budget
Washington, D.C., council members narrowly rejected a proposal to impose a capital gains surcharge on high-income earners, passing a funding package that would block the district's earned income tax credit and expand gambling.
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July 29, 2025
State & Local Tax Atty Rejoins Pillsbury In San Francisco
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP continues expanding its tax team, welcoming a state and local tax expert who worked several years as a solo practitioner back to the firm as a partner in its San Francisco office.
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July 29, 2025
Colo. Conservative Group Says New OT Law Violates TABOR
Colorado's new overtime law, which requires overtime deducted from federal gross income to be added back to a taxpayer's federal taxable income for state income tax, violates the state's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, a conservative advocacy group told a state district court.
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July 29, 2025
Calif. Allows Retroactive Tax Exclusion For Solar Property
California will allow the purchaser of a new property a three-year window to apply for a property tax exclusion for solar energy systems under a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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July 29, 2025
Utah Justices Back Tax On Spouse Of University Student
The husband of a Utah resident is on the hook to pay income tax despite having resided in another state, the Utah Supreme Court said, ruling that because his wife was attending college in the state, he also qualified as a domiciled resident.
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July 29, 2025
NJ Offers Penalty, Interest Waivers For Nonresident Partners
Partnerships with nonresident partners that owe New Jersey tax can request relief from late filing penalties and interest on underpayments of estimated taxes if they have calculated tax based on a former method that was altered in 2024, the state tax agency said.
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July 29, 2025
Calif. Extends Filing Allowance For Taxpayers Without SSNs
California indefinitely extended provisions of a preexisting law allowing nonresidents without a Social Security number or individual taxpayer identification number to file state income tax returns or be included on group returns under a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Expert Analysis
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Top 3 Litigation Finance Deal-Killers, And How To Avoid Them
Like all transactions, litigation finance deals can sometimes collapse, but understanding the most common reasons for failure, including a lack of trust or a misunderstanding of deal terms, can help both parties avoid problems, say Rebecca Berrebi at Avenue 33 and Boris Ziser at Schulte Roth.
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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.