A New York nonresident taxpayer, Edward Zelinsky, recently filed a notice of exception to a Division of Tax Appeals’ (DTA) determination that he must allocate all his wages to New York under the so-called “convenience of the employer” rule.[1] Zelinsky, a Connecticut resident who had previously challenged New York’s controversial…
The California Office of Tax Appeals (OTA) recently issued two opinions addressing the burden of proof taxpayers must meet to substantiate entitlement to California’s research and development (R&D) tax credit for qualified expenditures under California Revenue and Taxation Code section 23609. In both opinions, the OTA ruled in favor of…
A California trial court granted summary adjudication in the American Catalog Mailers Association’s (ACMA) action against the Franchise Tax Board (FTB), invalidating FTB guidance that says certain online activities exceed the protections of Public Law 86-272 for state income tax purposes. This follows the court’s denial of ACMA’s first motion…
In the Appeal of Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative (2023-OTA-342P) (Beet Sugar), the California Office of Tax Appeals (OTA) issued a precedential opinion holding the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) is not entitled to apply its FTB Legal Ruling 2006-01 (Apr. 28, 2006) to prohibit taxpayers from including in…
The entire Pillsbury State and Local Tax (SALT) Team is very proud to congratulate our practice leader Carley Roberts for receiving the prestigious Benjamin F. Miller award during this year’s California Annual Meeting of the Tax Bar and Tax Policy Conference. This award is presented annually by the California Lawyers…
On July 3, 2023, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law A.B. 5323, enacting important revisions to New Jersey’s Corporation Business Tax (CBT)[1] including expanding the definition of what constitutes a “unitary business.” The expanded definition now includes affiliated entities that may not have previously met the requirements for combined group…
A California trial court denied summary judgment in the American Catalog Mailers Association’s (ACMA) action that seeks to invalidate Franchise Tax Board (FTB) guidance that says certain online activities exceed the protections of Public Law 86-272 for state income tax purposes. However, the court signaled it may invalidate the FTB’s…
In a split decision, the Michigan Supreme Court rejected a taxpayer’s assertion that applying the standard apportionment formula to gain derived from a deemed asset sale led to a grossly distorted, unconstitutional result. The court held in Vectren Infrastructure Services Corporation v. Department of Treasury, No. 163742 (July 31, 2023),…
On July 3, 2023, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed A.B. 5323 into law to amend New Jersey’s Corporation Business Tax (CBT). The bill enacted a variety of clarifications, corrections and modifications to the CBT. The bill includes substantive amendments to CBT provisions, such as: Economic Nexus Threshold: The bill…
The Minnesota Tax Court held a catalog and internet-based distribution company exceeded the protections of Public Law 86-272 (PL 86-272) by providing non-sales personnel with information about competitors’ products and sales terms obtained from Minnesota customers by the company’s salespeople. PL 86-272 is a federal law enacted in 1959 that…