State and Local

State Tax Policy Takes Center Stage
In a time of burgeoning deficits, what is the status of SALT?

In an informative session on the first day of the 75th Anniversary Celebration and Annual Conference in October, experts addressed the topic “SALT Tax Policy: As Deficits Turn, Will the Tide Change?” The panel included Mo Bell-Jacobs, senior manager in the Washington, D.C., office of RSM, who specializes in state… Read more »

Administrative Challenges Multistate Businesses Face—and Potential Solutions
Sales and use taxes impose idiosyncratic—but fixable—burdens on businesses

Since the beginning of time, multistate taxpayers have faced significant administrative challenges to complying with all the variations in state and local tax laws. If “the beginning of time” may be a bit of a stretch, those challenges are a reality today. And any business that operates in multiple states… Read more »

TEI Roundtable No. 43: Separate, Combined, and Worldwide Unitary State Filings
Some practical advice for making these key decisions

One of the most talked-about education sessions at this year’s Midyear Conference in March was the session titled “Separate, Combined, and Worldwide Unitary State Filings—What’s New?” We thought this very important state and local tax topic deserved more discussion, so we convened a roundtable in May to take a deeper… Read more »

Market Sourcing or Bust: The Kitchen Sink Approach of COP-Sourcing States
The binary nature of the determination makes COP sourcing controversial

The division of multistate business income among the states is accomplished through formulary apportionment. State formulary apportionment provisions increasingly rely on the receipts factor to divide income, sharpening the focus on the sourcing of receipts. Although many states have transitioned to a market-sourcing (also known as destination sourcing) approach, historically… Read more »

How Remote Workforce Programs Trigger Myriad Tax Problems—Part One
What’s triggered? How about fringe benefits, federal and state tax withholding, and information-reporting issues?

Editor’s note: Given the complexity of this topic, this will be a two-part article. This first part addresses fringe benefits, federal and state tax withholding, and information reporting. The second part, which will appear in the May-June issue of Tax Executive, will address 1) tax reporting and withholding under remote-work… Read more »

Apportionment: Normal Formulas Are Unfair and Can Be Challenged
Let’s acknowledge that companies’ advantages in the market arise partly from their human capital and use of assets—both tangible and intangible

For the 2022 tax year, of the forty-five states (plus the District of Columbia) that impose a corporate income tax, more than thirty require the use of a single sales factor normal apportionment formula; and, when we also consider states that put additional weight on the sales factor, that number… Read more »

The Presumption of Correctness
A pesky problem in state tax law

A common question tax directors ask when considering whether to litigate a state tax case is, What is the likelihood we will win? It’s an obvious question to ask, but an impossible one to answer. In our own experience, we have won cases we’d thought were stacked against us and… Read more »

Demystifying the Settlement of California Tax Controversies
Perhaps the most unique—and surprising—aspect of the California administrative settlement process is the designated agency settlement bureau structure

California is a state of overflowing abundance. From technology to entertainment to produce, the state has it all and then some. So when it comes to tax agencies, why would California stop at one? Most states have a single department of revenue, finance, or taxation, but California has five tax… Read more »

You’ve Been Served: Defending Against a State Tax Class Action
Are you prepared for this rising threat to your business?

An email comes from the general counsel: your company has been sued by a customer who alleges that the company systematically overcharges sales tax.1 The complaint—the legal document that starts the lawsuit—contains multiple counts for various violations of state statutes and common law doctrines and demands damages, attorney’s fees, and… Read more »

Disrupting the Norm: Using Technology to Reinvent State Tax Compliance
It’s time to free up capacity and deal with remote work

In the current business environment, the only constant in the face of major economic and societal shifts is dynamic change. As companies forge ahead, their tax departments increasingly lead the way in sustainably transforming their business models and their digital and strategic footprints. Tax leaders are remaking their technology infrastructures… Read more »