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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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.
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.
Pillsbury SALT is pleased to share three presentations during TEI Chicago’s SALT Program on December 8 via webinar. Partners Carley Roberts and Jeff Vesely will partner with Mark Fadden and others to present timely SALT content. Continue Reading ›
Pillsbury SALT is proud to announce its inclusion in the U.S. News – Best Lawyers 2021 “Best Law Firms” survey. Pillsbury’s Tax team earned a National Tier 1 Ranking in Tax Litigation and Tax Law, Tier 1 in San Francisco for Tax Litigation and Tax Law, Tier 2 in Tax Law for New York City, and Tier 1 in Tax Law in Miami. Pillsbury has earned a total of 162 national and regional practice rankings in the latest U.S. News – Best Lawyers 2021 “Best Law Firms” survey. Of those rankings, 27 were listed as national Tier 1 and 63 were listed as Tier 1 within their respective metropolitan markets.
On November 3, California and San Francisco voters were asked to decide several tax‑related referenda with major implications across all business industries. Although it is too early to state with certainty, voters appear to have rejected Proposition 15, a measure that would introduce a so-called “split roll” property tax system. On the same day, voters in San Francisco overwhelmingly approved a battery of tax-related measures: Proposition F, which overhauls San Francisco’s business taxes; Proposition I, which doubles the real estate transfer tax on transactions exceeding $10 million; Proposition L, which institutes an aggressive new “Overpaid Executive Gross Receipts Tax;” and Proposition J, which repeals and replaces an annual parcel tax.
Pillsbury attorneys Craig Becker, Breann Robowski, and William Bennett explain.
To read the full article, please click here.
The fate of Washington’s Business & Occupation (“B&O”) surtax on large financial institutions remains uncertain as the state’s highest court has not yet decided whether to grant direct review or transfer the state’s appeal to the Washington Court of Appeals. On July 13, 2020, the State of Washington filed a direct appeal in the Washington Supreme Court seeking to overturn a trial court decision that struck down the state’s recently enacted surtax on large out-of-state financial institutions. Wash. Bankers Ass’n v. State, No. 19-2-29262-8 SEA (Wash. Super. Ct. May 15, 2020), appeal docketed, No. 98760-2 (Wash. July 13, 2020). On July 27, 2020, the state filed its statement of grounds for direct review with the Washington Supreme Court and on August 24, 2020, the respondents, the Washington Bankers Association and American Bankers Association (collectively, the “Associations”) filed their answer. Continue Reading ›
Pillsbury partner Carley Roberts will present “Protecting Confidentiality & Audit Readiness” during the 27th Annual Paul J. Hartman State & Local Tax Forum. The Professor Paul J. Hartman Memorial State and Local Tax (SALT) Forum, sponsored in conjunction with the Vanderbilt University Law School, provides industry, practitioners and state revenue employees the opportunity to participate in a quality forum exploring significant national developments and trends in state and local taxation. The Forum features speakers with the knowledge, expertise, and communication skills to impart current developments as well as the practical solutions and planning opportunities in structuring and reporting state and local tax transactions. Continue Reading ›
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.
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.
