State & Local
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June 16, 2025
Texas Authorizes Increased Tax Exemption For Biz Property
Texas authorized a fiftyfold increase to the state's tax exemption for business personal property starting in 2026 pending the outcome of a public vote under a bill signed by Gov. Greg Abbott.
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June 16, 2025
Massachusetts Directive Clarifies Cable Box Sales Tax Break
Massachusetts tax applies to the sales or rentals of cable boxes that do more than receive transmitted programming or implement parental control functions, the state Department of Revenue clarified.
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June 13, 2025
Ex-Ill. Speaker Madigan Gets 7½ Years For Bribery
An Illinois federal judge on Friday sentenced former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan to seven and a half years in prison and fined him $2.5 million for his conviction on bribery, conspiracy and wire fraud charges, saying his determination that Madigan perjured himself on the stand at trial impacted the stiff penalty.
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June 13, 2025
La. To Require New Sales Tax Breaks To Apply State And Local
Louisiana will require new sales and use tax exemptions to apply to both state and local sales tax under a bill signed by the governor.
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June 13, 2025
NY Tax Doesn't Apply To Co.'s Concrete Services
New York sales and use tax doesn't apply to a concrete pumping truck company's pumping services because the pumping qualifies as capital improvements, which is exempt from tax, the state tax department said.Â
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June 13, 2025
La. Â鶹´«Ã½makers OK Inventory Tax Exemption Ballot Measure
Louisiana voters would decide whether to amend the state constitution to allow parishes to exempt business inventory from property taxation under legislation passed by lawmakers.
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June 13, 2025
NY Says Biz's Marketplace Facilitator Collects Tax On Sales
An out-of-state business that stores goods in New York doesn't need to register for sales tax if the marketplace facilitator it uses already collects the tax and it doesn't make other sales in the state, the state tax department said.
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June 13, 2025
NY Contractor Told To Collect Sales Tax On Charges
New York's sales and use tax should be collected by a contractor on labor charges when its customers fail to provide a tax-exemption certificate for capital improvements, the state tax department ruled.Â
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June 13, 2025
NY Co.'s Hotel Cleaning Services Don't Trigger Sales Tax
A New York-based company's receipts for hotel cleaning services aren't subject to New York state and local sales and use taxes because the customer's own employees performed the cleaning services, the state tax department said in an advisory opinion.
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June 13, 2025
Tax Credit Sales Would Be Difficult To Insure Under House Bill
House Republicans' sweeping budget bill proposes to promptly scale back the clean energy tax incentives established by the 2022 climate law, a move that would make it difficult for tax insurers to back project development deals that want to sell their tax credits for cash.
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June 13, 2025
Conn. Net Revenue Through May Up $1.16B From Last Year
Connecticut net revenues from July through May outpaced collections made during the same period last fiscal year by $1.16 billion, according to the state Department of Revenue.
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June 13, 2025
La. Severance Tax Cut Sent To Governor For Approval
Louisiana would nearly halve its severance tax rate to 6.5% on oil produced from new wells under a bill sent to the governor.Â
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June 13, 2025
Taxation With Representation: Debevoise, Latham, Paul Weiss
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Brown & Brown Inc. buys Accession Risk Management Group Inc., Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. acquires Dana Inc.'s off-highway unit, Qualcomm Inc. buys Alphawave IP, and Warner Bros. Discovery announced it will split into two publicly traded companies.
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June 13, 2025
Minnesota Revenue Tops Forecast By $23M In May
Minnesota's general fund revenue collection in May outpaced forecasts by $23 million, according to a report by the state Office of Management and Budget.
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June 13, 2025
Fed. Tax Bill Primed To Reignite Conformity Talks In States
The federal budget reconciliation bill's tax proposals, including extensions of certain elements of President Donald Trump's signature 2017 tax plan, are primed to rekindle debates among state lawmakers over how states should conform to the federal code.
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June 12, 2025
GOP Tax Bill Penalizes Professionals, CPA Group Says
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by House Republicans penalizes accountants and other professionals and would unfairly eliminate a state and local tax deduction for certain pass-through entities, a national group of certified public accountants said Thursday.
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June 12, 2025
Md. Court OKs Second Tax Notice, Drops Home Value
A second residential property assessment notice by the city of Baltimore boosting a valuation by more than $300,000 over its initial assessment is valid, but the assessment was too high, the Maryland Tax Court said in an order released Thursday.
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June 12, 2025
NY Says No Sales Tax Due On Vacation Property Rent
New York doesn't subject a person's income from their vacation property to sales tax, the state tax department said in an advisory opinion.
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June 12, 2025
NH High Court Upholds Towns Keeping Excess Tax Revenue
The right of New Hampshire communities to retain excess statewide education property taxes for other purposes doesn't violate the state constitution's uniformity clause, the state Supreme Court ruled, partially reversing a trial court.
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June 12, 2025
Legal Noncitizens OK For Domicile Tax Break, SC Judge Says
A legally present couple from India showed intent to remain domiciled in their South Carolina home and therefore qualify for the property tax treatment granted for owner-occupied residences, an administrative judge ruled.
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June 12, 2025
Philly Lowers Business Income Tax Rates In Approved Budget
Philadelphia will lower the city's business income and receipts tax rate, eventually phasing out the gross receipts portion of the tax and lowering the net income portion under a budget approved by the City Council, the mayor announced Thursday.
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June 12, 2025
Ohio Senate Passes Budget Plan With Flat Tax
Ohio would levy a flat tax on income, doing away with its progressive tax regime, and increase the homestead deduction as part of a $60 billion budget plan passed by the state Senate.
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June 12, 2025
La. Â鶹´«Ã½makers OK Inventory Tax Credit Changes For S Corps
Louisiana only would allow inventory tax credits for S corporations to be taken against personal income tax liabilities of shareholders in the pass-through entities under a bill approved by the state Legislature.
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June 12, 2025
NY Dept. Says Tax Applies To Auction Service's Commission
New York sales tax applies to a buyer's premium, otherwise known as a commission, on the sale of property at auction because the commission is part of the sales price, the state Department of Taxation said.
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June 12, 2025
Wis. Children's Hospital Denied Exemption For Hospital Tower
The Children's Hospital of Wisconsin isn't eligible for a property tax exemption for a tower built in its medical complex, as it was unused during the tax year, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled.
Expert Analysis
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NY Tax Talk: Sourcing, Retroactivity, Information Services
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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 Â鶹´«Ã½ 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.
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Cookies, Cribs, Curiousness: SALT In Review
From Massachusetts' cookie-based take on a federal law to Pennsylvania's proposed tax exemption for cribs, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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A Cold War-Era History Lesson On Due Process
The landmark Harry Bridges case from the mid-20th century Red Scare offers important insights on why lawyers must be free of government reprisal, no matter who their client is, says Peter Afrasiabi at One LLP.
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How BigÂ鶹´«Ã½ Executive Orders May Affect Smaller Firms
Because of the types of cases they take on, solo practitioners, small law firms and public interest attorneys may find themselves more dramatically affected by the collective impact of recent government action involving the legal industry than even the BigÂ鶹´«Ã½ firms named in the executive orders, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.