SeeSALT BlogPillsbury SALT attorneys Carley Roberts, Zachary Atkins, Nicole Boutros and Evan Hamme will present during Tax Executive Institute’s Wisconsin Chapter Meeting on February 18.
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TEI’s Wisconsin Chapter Meeting
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Articles Posted in Issues
How to Be Reasonable When Reasonably Approximating the Market: Part I
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Partner Carley Roberts and counsel Robert Merten III authored Part 1 of a multi-part series in Tax Notes State’s SeeSALT Digest to review the landscape of market-based sourcing rules and provide an in-depth focus on various states’ use of reasonable approximation.
Read more here. Continue Reading ›
Should San Francisco Taxpayers File Protective Claims for Recovery of the Homelessness Tax and the Commercial Rents Tax?
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In 2018, San Francisco voters approved, by simple majority vote, two new gross receipts taxes: the Homelessness Gross Receipts Tax (SF-HT) and the Commercial Rents Tax (SF-CRT), with both 
taxes effective as of January 1, 2019.[1] Because these taxes fund specific governmental services, they are designated as special taxes (specifically, the SF-HT funds homelessness services and the SF-CRT funds early childhood education). Since the California Constitution specifies that special taxes imposed by local government need two-thirds voter approval (i.e., a “supermajority”), taxpayer groups have filed lawsuits to invalidate these special taxes, as both were approved by only a majority vote (61% for the SF-HT and 51% for the SF-CRT).[2] As discussed more fully below, the courts have ruled against these taxpayer groups and the California Supreme Court to date has refused review.
The pressing question is whether San Francisco taxpayers, who paid the SF-HT and/or the SF‑CRT for 2019 and 2020, should be filing claims to protect their rights to refunds in the unlikely (but not impossible) event that these taxes are ultimately rendered invalid.
Delaware State Court Strikes Down NOL Limitation, Presenting Refund Opportunity
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A Delaware state court invalidated the Delaware Division of Revenue’s policy limiting net operating loss (NOL) deductions 
for members of federal consolidated groups, holding that the policy violated the Uniformity Clause of the state constitution. Verisign, Inc. v. Director of Revenue, No. N19C-08-093 JRJ (Del. Super. Ct. Dec. 17, 2020). The decision presents a potential refund opportunity for Delaware corporate taxpayers who were members of a federal consolidated group, and for Delaware corporate income tax purposes had their separate-company NOL deductions limited to the group’s consolidated NOL.
Pillsbury attorney Zack Atkins explains.
To read the full article, please click here.
2021 California CLE Marathon Webinars
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Pillsbury SALT partners Craig Becker and Breann Robowski will present during Pillsbury’s 2021 California CLE Marathons. This event features a wide variety of live webinars on timely topics. Craig and Breann will present “California Property, Transfer and Local Tax Updates” on Monday, January 25.
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The 2021 National Multistate Tax Symposium
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Pillsbury SALT partner Breann Robowski will present during The National Multistate Tax Symposium. The theme for the 2021 symposium is “Leading Through Uncertainty – Navigating Multistate Tax With Confidence,” which will focus on exploring significant issues facing today’s multistate tax practitioners.
Indiana Municipalities’ Franchise Fee Lawsuit Against Online Video Providers Remanded to State Court
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A federal district court held that under comity principles, Indiana state court is a more appropriate venue for a putative class action brought by three Indiana municipalities seeking to impose franchise fees on a group of online video providers. Order, City of Fishers v. Netflix, Inc. No. 1:20-cv-02351-JMS-MPB (S.D. Ind. Nov. 18, 2020). The federal district court remanded the case to the Marion Superior Court, where it was originally filed.
COST’s 51st Annual Meeting
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Pillsbury SALT partner Annie Huang will present during COST’s 51st Annual Meeting on October 22. 
Partnering with Robert Johnson (Crowe), Eran Liron (PwC) and Ruben Sislyan (Greenberg Traurig), Annie will present “Market Sourcing through Alternative Apportionment or Creative Characterizations of Activity,” moderated by Stephanie Do (COST). Few issues have created greater angst or spawned more litigation than state efforts to impose market sourcing of services on out-of-state taxpayers. As the service sector has grown, so has single-sales factor apportionment, which often makes market sourcing an all-or-nothing proposition to both states and taxpayers. Although many states have modified UDITPA to move from COP to market sourcing, many have not and are using tools such as Sec. 482, forced combination, and creative characterizations of benefits received. And states that changed are trying to stanch the revenue outflow from in-state service companies as well. This session will provide an overview and discussion of some of the more bizarre and inconsistent approaches taken by states on this issue.
COST’s 51st Annual Meeting offers sessions of interest to every state tax professional in industry, whether a COST member or otherwise, as well as in the consulting, accounting and legal profession. The program covers all types of state and local taxes that business taxpayers are confronted with today and provides updates on key SALT issues.
For more information and to register, please click here.
CalTax’s Splitting the Property Tax Roll Webinar Series
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Pillsbury partners Breann Robowski and Craig Becker will present during CalTax’s Splitting the Property Tax Roll webinar series in October.
Splitting the Property Tax Roll, a webinar series on the Technical Provisions of Proposition 15, will feature a new episode every Tuesday in October.
Breann will present during Episode 1, “California’s Property Tax System” on October 6. The speakers will discuss what California’s property tax system was like prior to the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978, provide an overview of the current property tax structure and how the measure has evolved over time, and discuss the provisions of Proposition 15.
Craig will present during Episode 2, “Ready, Set, Split Roll: The Impact of Proposition 15″ on October 13. This webinar will cover the economic impact of Proposition 15, including how the measure would impact consumers and private-sector employment. Speakers will cover how to interpret Proposition 15, drafting flaws, and how the measure would have specific impact on certain industries, including agricultural properties and vineyards, energy, and telecommunications.
For more information, please visit the event page.
CalTax members may find a recording of Breann’s presentation here and Craig’s presentation here.
Cold Class Action: Federal Judge in Alaska Rules State and Local Sales Tax Class Action Survives Motion to Dismiss/Strike
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In Alaska, a state and local sales tax class action survived a motion to dismiss and motion to strike class allegations after a federal judge determined the plaintiff’s alleged claims were plausible. In Van v. LLR, INC., d/b/a LuLaRoe et al., the plaintiff—an Alaska resident and customer of the defendant retailer—alleged she was improperly charged sales tax on clothing purchased from the out-of-state retailer’s “remote consultants” and shipped to her residence in Anchorage, Alaska. With no state sales tax in Alaska and few local sales taxes, the plaintiff claimed defendant retailer unlawfully collected sales tax on transactions shipped to Alaska for over a year.