State & Local
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October 06, 2025
Calif. OTA Backs Increased Sales Tax Bill For Coffee Shop
A California coffee shop was correctly assessed additional sales tax by the state's tax agency after a review of its books, the Office of Tax Appeals ruled, saying the business failed to present evidence to prove the calculation overstated its sales.
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October 06, 2025
Calif. Gov. Rejects Sales Tax Break For Hydrogen Fuel
California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have partially exempted hydrogen fuel from the state's 7.25% sales and use tax.
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October 06, 2025
NY Tribunal Upholds Sales Tax On CBRE Biz's Software
A facilities management business owned by commercial broker CBRE is liable for New York sales tax on its bundled services that included sales of prewritten software, a state panel ruled, affirming a determination that the software was integral to the company's operations.
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October 06, 2025
Social Security Chief Adds Duties As Inaugural CEO Of IRS
The current administrator of the Social Security Administration is adding a new role as the Internal Revenue Service's first chief executive officer, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Monday.
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October 06, 2025
Arkansas Revenues Through Sept. Beat Forecast By $74M
Arkansas' net general fund revenue from July through September outperformed estimates by $74 million, according to the state Department of Revenue.
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October 06, 2025
NH Total Receipts Through Sept. Down $17M From Forecast
New Hampshire's total receipts from July through September underperformed budget estimates by $17 million, the state Department of Administrative Services reported.
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October 06, 2025
Mass. Revenues Through Sept. Fall $64M Short Of Forecast
Massachusetts general revenue collection from July through September lagged behind estimates by $64 million, according to the state Department of Revenue.
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October 06, 2025
Calif. Extends Sales And Use Tax Breaks For Energy, Transit
California extended by two years a state financing authority's power to provide sales and use tax exclusions for approved alternative energy and transportation projects under a bill signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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October 03, 2025
Investor Claim Cannabis Co. Seller Hid $16M In Unpaid Taxes
California cannabis company Prime Harvest Inc. claims it was fraudulently induced into buying a cannabis distribution business that was saddled with $16 million in unpaid taxes, asking a state court to force the sellers to take back the distributor.
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October 03, 2025
Mich. Lawmakers OK Fed. Code Decoupling, New Pot Tax
Michigan is slated to decouple from certain business-friendly provisions in this year's federal tax bill and impose a new excise tax on the wholesale price of cannabis under a budget plan approved by state lawmakers Friday.
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October 03, 2025
COST Decries Massachusetts Foreign-Source Income Tax Plan
A Massachusetts proposal supporters said would fight offshore corporate tax avoidance and raise $400 billion annually would violate the U.S. Constitution and place the state at odds with other jurisdictions, the Council on State Taxation told legislators Friday.
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October 03, 2025
NY ALJ Snuffs Out State Penalties On Biz's Cigarettes
A New York administrative law judge scrapped a penalty assessment on a retailer for holding untaxed cigarettes after determining that the state's tax agency failed to present evidence.
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October 03, 2025
Airline Group Raises Concerns With Updates To MTC Rule
A Multistate Tax Commission proposal to update a decades-old sourcing regulation for airlines to account for business practices that didn't exist when the rule was adopted could unnecessarily complicate how airlines calculate their tax liabilities, an industry representative said Friday.
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October 03, 2025
How Hemenway & Barnes, Raines Feldman Beat Pa. 'Jock Tax'
With decades of experience representing athletes in local tax disputes, Hemenway & Barnes LLP partner Stephen Kidder and his team knew from the jump they had a strong argument to overturn the city of Pittsburgh's "jock tax" on nonresident athletes, but scoring a win would ultimately take a yearslong fight that ended with a unanimous ruling from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court last week.
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October 03, 2025
Some Longtime Legal Blogs Go Quiet As Platform Shuts Down
When the online publishing platform Typepad launched more than two decades ago, it became a hub for a then-growing community of law professors and legal bloggers. Its closure this week marked the end of an era that has found some bloggers looking for new homes or opting to call it quits.
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October 03, 2025
Waste Hauler Denied Ohio Sales Tax Break For Fuel
Trash and recycling collector Republic Services' purchases of fuel to power its trucks' equipment don't qualify for a sales tax exemption extended to items attached to or incorporated in motor vehicles, the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals said Friday.
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October 03, 2025
Justices To Weigh Compensation In Tax-Foreclosure Sale
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to take up a case contending that a deceased homeowner's estate was denied its constitutionally owed compensation when a Michigan county sold a tax-foreclosed property at a fraction of its fair market value.
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October 03, 2025
Texas Net Revenues Down 2.8% From Last Year
Texas net general revenue collection in September fell 2.8% from the same month last year, the state comptroller's office reported.
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October 03, 2025
Alabama's Annual Tax Revenues Increase By $443M
Alabama's general revenue fund collection in the 2024-2025 fiscal year beat the previous year's total by $443 million, the state Department of Revenue reported.
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October 03, 2025
Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Paul Weiss, Cravath
In this week's Taxation With Representation, video game maker Electronic Arts agrees to be acquired by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners; online mortgage giant Rocket closes its acquisition of rival Mr. Cooper Group; and Berkshire Hathaway acquires international energy company Occidental's chemical business.
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October 03, 2025
Iowa Total Receipts Through Sept. Down $454M
Iowa's total receipts from July through September lagged behind the total for the same period last year by $454 million, the state's Department of Management said.
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October 02, 2025
Calif. Aligns With Fed. Energy Credit Laws, Other Tax Changes
California conformed its tax laws with federal statutes on renewable energy tax credits and with other Internal Revenue Code provisions enacted over the last decade under a pair of bills signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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October 02, 2025
Ala. Tribunal Nixes Package Stores' Sales Tax Liability
The owner of a package store business doesn't owe an assessed tax liability after proving through sales records that he remitted tax on the company's sales, the Alabama Tax Tribunal ruled.
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October 02, 2025
Ohio Group Urges Changes To Mitigate Rising Property Taxes
An Ohio group commissioned by the state governor to study state property taxes suggested that legislators approve a bill that would allow localities special residential zones where homeowners can be partially exempt from property taxes, along with setting limits for the zones.
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October 02, 2025
Texas AG Blocks 4 Cities' Property Tax Hikes
Four Texas cities must shelve property tax increases after having failed to comply with a new state law, the state's attorney general ordered Thursday, saying they must raise taxes only enough to maintain the previous year's amount of revenue.
Expert Analysis
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States, Taxes And Scorecards: SALT In Review
From the latest noteworthy rankings of the states' business tax regimes to results of ballot measures across the country, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?
Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.
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Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Considering Chevron's End Through A State Tax Lens
States took the lead in encouraging Chevron's demise, turning away from Chevron-type deference in state tax administration ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision, a trend likely to accelerate as courts take a more active role in interpreting tax laws, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.
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Kentucky Tax Talk: Finally Better Online Records At Revenue?
The Kentucky Department of Revenue has not taken significant visible steps toward complying with legislation requiring it to post administrative guidance on its website starting no later than Nov. 15, and refusal to do so would widen the transparency gap between the state and its more business-friendly neighbors, say attorneys at Frost Brown.
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Striking A Balance Between AI Use And Attorney Well-Being
As the legal industry increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence tools to boost efficiency, leaders must note the hidden costs of increased productivity, and work to protect attorneys’ well-being while unlocking AI’s full potential, says Ed Sohn at Factor.
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Overreach In Texas And An Acronym In Peril: SALT In Review
From the Council on State Taxation's take on a proposal in Texas to the potential end of a fundamental truth in Montana, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
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How Judiciary Can Minimize AI Risks In Secondary Sources
Because courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence and other safeguards do not address the risk of hallucinations in secondary source materials, the judiciary should consider enlisting legal publishers and database hosts to protect against AI-generated inaccuracies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.
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NY Tax Talk: Questions In Corporate Franchise Tax Regs Case
In the first challenge to New York's Corporate Franchise Tax regulations — Paychex v. Department of Taxation and Finance — the court has an important opportunity to provide clarity on a major retroactive application issue, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.
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How Attorneys Can Break Free From Career Enmeshment
Ambitious attorneys can sometimes experience career enmeshment — when your sense of self-worth becomes unhealthily tangled up in your legal vocation — but taking the time to discover and realign with your core personal values can help you recover your identity, says Janna Koretz at Azimuth Psychological.
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Lawyers With Disabilities Are Seeking Equity, Not Pity
Attorneys living with disabilities face extra challenges — including the need for special accommodations, the fear of stigmatization and the risk of being tokenized — but if given equitable opportunities, they can still rise to the top of their field, says Kate Reder Sheikh, a former attorney and legal recruiter at Major Lindsey & Africa.
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Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules
The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.
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The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO
The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.