What is a realistic time frame for tax reform to be considered by Congress, and will the public have a chance to comment on tax reform bills as they make their way through Congress? Comprehensive tax reform is a complex process and will take time and political capital for enactment into law. The House Ways … Continue Reading
Companion House and Senate bills and proposed new regulation would implement $250,000 “substantial economic presence” standard. Two bills have been introduced in the Mississippi Legislature to enact factor presence nexus standards to require certain foreign sellers to collect and remit Mississippi use tax. House Bill 480 and Senate Bill 2456, clearly aimed at internet sellers, … Continue Reading
Our Washington office, together with our tax professionals firmwide, will be working closely with the congressional tax-writing committees on tax reform legislation and are available to assist clients as necessary. Our client alert series will provide legal insight and timely content from our tax and government relations advisors. Sign up for our client alerts and … Continue Reading
State & Local Tax partner Matt Mantle was recently quoted in the Bloomberg BNA article “Louisiana Law Requires Parishes Equal Access to Exemptions,” regarding optional local-level exemptions in Louisiana and the recent Louisiana Supreme Court decision (Arrow Aviation Co, LLC v. St. Martin Parish, La., No. 2016-CA-1132, 12/6/16) addressing the issue of whether a pointed … Continue Reading
In Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories, Inc. v. T.A. “Tim” Barfield, Jr., Secretary, Department of Revenue, State of Louisiana; and the State of Louisiana, Louisiana Court of Appeal, First Circuit, Docket No. 2015-CA-0926 (September 9, 2016), the Louisiana Court of Appeal, First Circuit recently confirmed that Louisiana was a “location-of-performance” state when sourcing service-based receipts for corporate income … Continue Reading
Late Monday evening, on April 18, 2016, the Mississippi House and Senate approved a conference committee report on Senate Bill 2858, known as the “Taxpayer Pay Raise Act of 2016”, to implement a ten-year phase out of the corporate franchise tax, and also to phase-in an individual and corporate income tax exemption on the first … Continue Reading
Mississippi Department of Revenue v. Hotel and Restaurant Supply Cause No. 2014-CA-01685-SCT (March 10, 2016) In Mississippi Department of Revenue v. Hotel and Restaurant Supply, the Mississippi Supreme Court on Thursday, March 10, 2016, upheld the reversal of a sales tax assessment levied against a vendor who failed to collect sales taxes on construction-related materials … Continue Reading
It is somewhat rare for the Louisiana Supreme Court to entertain three tax cases in one year. It is even rarer for the Court to hear three state and local tax cases in back-to-back sessions. However, that is exactly what the Court will be doing! On January 25th and 26th, the Court will hear oral … Continue Reading
On Monday, October 2, Judge Michael Caldwell of the Nineteenth Judicial District Court for the Parish of East Baton Rouge ruled that the Louisiana Chemical Association (the “LCA”) has standing to challenge the constitutionality of House Concurrent Resolution No. 8 (“HCR 8”). Specifically, the court found that the LCA is permitted to sue on behalf … Continue Reading
The Mississippi Supreme Court last week in Vincent J. Castigliola, Jr. v. Mississippi Department of Revenue, No. 2013-SA-001574-SCT (April 30, 2015), reversed a lower court judgment which had upheld the Department of Revenue’s imposition of use tax upon the out-of-state purchase of a yacht by a Mississippi resident. In doing so the Court provided taxpayers with very … Continue Reading
On Friday, the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal issued its highly-anticipated opinion in Cynthia Bridges, Secretary, Department of Revenue v. Polychim USA, Inc. In Polychim, the First Circuit considered whether the district court properly granted summary judgment in favor of the Louisiana Department of Revenue (the “Department”) in its holding that Polychim was subject … Continue Reading
The Hinds County Chancery Court on March 20th invalidated the nexus-based restrictions contained within Mississippi’s dividend exclusion statute, finding the provisions violated the Commerce Clause. A copy of the Court’s Order can be found here. The Mississippi Department of Revenue and the taxpayer, AT&T, had stipulated that the statute, Miss. Code Section 27-7-15(4)(i), exempts from a … Continue Reading
In our prior post on the case of Pot-O-Gold Rentals, LLC v. City of Baton Rouge, we noted that we were hoping the Louisiana Supreme Court would hear this case in order to “clean up the mess” regarding the reach of the Louisiana lease tax and the scope of taxable “gross proceeds” (a term which … Continue Reading
The Hinds County Chancery Court recently ruled that the Mississippi Supreme Court’s widely-discussed decision in Equifax, Inc. v. Mississippi Department of Revenue is a double-edged blade and, much to the Department of Revenue’s chagrin, cuts sharply in both directions. Miss. Dept. of Rev. v. Hotel and Restaurant Supply, Civil Action No. G2013-820 S/2, Hinds County Chancery … Continue Reading
Two recent decisions have addressed whether ad valorem tax can be imposed on stored natural gas, for use outside of the taxing state. See ETC Mktg, Ltd. v. Harris County Appraisal Dist., 01-12-00264 (Tex. Ct. App. 2014); In re Various Applicants for Exemption from Prop. Tax., 313 P.2d 789, 799 (Kan. 2013), cert. denied Missouri Gas Energy v. Kansas, … Continue Reading
Well, I guess in these leaner economic times state and local tax collectors are willing to look for “gold” anywhere! On September 17, 2014, the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal held in the case of Pot-O-Gold Rentals, LLC v. City of Baton Rouge that a taxpayer’s waste removal services were taxable as part of … Continue Reading
Something new has been cooking in the Louisiana tax law kitchen! The Louisiana Supreme Court was recently asked to entertain the separate ideas of fraud and, for the first time, the economic substance doctrine in deciding a tax case in the State. Louisiana is certainly used to heat (as can be seen by its food … Continue Reading
Mississippi taxpayers are seeing green! On August 7, 2014, the Mississippi Supreme Court invalidated a sales and use tax regulation in Mississippi Department of Revenue v. Mississippi Power Company, No. 2013-CA-01234-SCT (Miss. Aug. 7, 2014). In that case, the Mississippi Department of Revenue (the “MDOR”) attempted to impose more restrictive requirements in the regulation, Miss. Reg. 35.IV.7.03(302), than the terms … Continue Reading
