Articles Posted in New York

A New York state corporate franchise tax audit is almost as frustrating as participating in a coin toss with a one-sided coin. It seems like taxpayers cannot win. New York state auditors forcibly combine taxpayers that have filed separate returns and decombine taxpayers that have filed combined returns. Auditors also seem to use the commissioner’s discretionary authority to adjust a taxpayer’s income or expense arbitrarily, in place of a combination adjustment, when it leads to greater tax liability. In this A Pinch of SALT, we assert that the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance applies to its combined reporting and discretionary authority provisions arbitrarily to maximize its tax assessments.

The remainder of this article can be accessed in the May 19, 2014 edition of State Tax Notes.

Taxpayers involved in state tax controversy matters often request information and documentation from state tax authorities to analyze audit adjustments. Some of those requests are thwarted by state tax authorities’ assertions of the deliberative process privilege to prevent the disclosure of information or documentation that may compromise the state tax authorities’ legal position.

The remainder of this article can be accessed in the December 10, 2012 edition of State Tax Notes.