Tax

By Charles Chuck Rubin on June 23, 2019

States with income taxes have varying rules on when they assert authority to tax income of trusts, based on combinations of contacts with their state of settlors, trustees, beneficiaries, assets, and management activities. In one of the more aggressive assertions of authority to tax, several states assert that they can tax the income of a trust merely because a beneficiary resides in the state. In a challenge to North Carolina’s scheme, the U.S. Supreme Court…

Nonprofit Law Blog

Can a Nonprofit Own a For-Profit? Can a For-Profit Own a Nonprofit?

By NEO Law Group on June 22, 2019

The quick and admittedly general answers (because there are exceptions) are: (1) yes, a nonprofit can own a for-profit; and (2) no, a for-profit cannot own a nonprofit, but it can select all of the nonprofit’s board members and thereby largely control the nonprofit. Can a Nonprofit Own a For-Profit? A nonprofit can own all of the ownership interest in a for-profit entity, whether such entity is a corporation or limited liability company. However, there…

SALT Shaker

Washington Court Games the Sales Tax Trade-In Exclusion

By Alla Raykin & Jeffrey Friedman on June 21, 2019

The Washington Court of Appeals upheld the Washington Department of Revenue’s denial of a sales tax exclusion for trade-ins of software and hardware. GameStop provides customers with a trade-in credit for software and hardware and allows customers to apply these credits towards future purchases of software and hardware. The Department denied GameStop’s exclusion for two reasons: the Department relied on its interpretation of its regulation to conclude that software and hardware are “not of a…

Tax, Trusts & Estates Law

Post-‘Wayfair’ Nexus Landscape for Tax Obligations of Out-of-State Businesses

By Geoffrey N. Weinstein & Juliya L. Ismailov on June 21, 2019

Reprinted with permission from the 3/28/19 edition of the New Jersey Law Journal© 2019 ALM Media Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited, contact 877-257-3382 or reprints@alm.com. In light of ever-present budget shortfalls in most states’ coffers, a go-to revenue generating technique affecting all business owners is a “nexus” audit. The U.S. Supreme Court decision last summer in South Dakota v. Wayfair, 138 S.Ct. 2080 (2018), overturning the longstanding precedent…

Tax-Exempt Organizations Bulletin

Recent Commercial Co-Venture Enforcement Action Highlights Risks of Noncompliance

By Ahsaki E. Benion on June 21, 2019

On July 19, 2018, the New York Attorney General announced a settlement with Tennessee-based charity Operation Troop Aid Inc. (“OTA”) for failure to properly oversee donations received as part of a commercial co-venture. OTA operated for the stated purpose of sending care packages to military service members, primarily during deployment. From at least 2012 to December 31, 2017, the charity engaged in a commercial co-venture relationship with Harris Originals of NY and affiliated retailers collectively…

Disputing Tax

Threat Of Sales Tax Overcollection Suits Grows Post-Wayfair

By Kat Gregor, Elizabeth Julia Smith & Stefan Herlitz on June 21, 2019

In a recent Law360 article, tax partner and tax controversy group co-founder Kat Gregor, tax controversy counsel Elizabeth Smith and tax associate Stefan Herlitz analyze the costly risks that loom if retailers collect too much sales tax including private class action lawsuits seeking refunds of over-collected sales tax. The authors explain that the trend of consumer sales tax class action suits will grow with the proliferation of states’ Wayfair sales tax collection regulations, and retailers’ struggling…

Take Stock: Federal Policy Watch

Next Week in Congress

By Michael Drobac, Greg Walden, Amanda Armistead, Casey Stokes & Lauren Stroupe on June 21, 2019

Budget Agreement With one week remaining before the July 4 recess – and the August recess just around the corner – congressional leaders continue to negotiate towards a budget agreement. Second FY20 Minibus The House will resume consideration of its second FY20 minibus next week, but has postponed any consideration of its FY20 Homeland Security funding bill until after the recess. FY20 National Defense Authorization Act Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has also teed…

Cooking with SALT

June 2019 Louisiana Remote Sellers Commission Meeting Brings Good News and… No News

By Andre Burvant on June 21, 2019

Monday’s meeting in Baton Rouge of the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers (the “Commission”) included two pieces of good news for just about everyone involved in or affected by the state’s effort to centralize the collection and remittance of sales taxes for remote sales. Unfortunately, there still remains a lack of clarity as to exactly who will be subject to the remote seller provisions of Act No. 5 of…

Zalma on Insurance

True Crime Stories to Understand Insurance Fraud & Bad Faith

By Barry Zalma on June 21, 2019

It’s Time to Train Up the Claims Staff To assist the insurance industry avoid the tort of bad faith Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, an insurance coverage and claims consultant, has created a library of insurance claims books and internet based training programs to make it possible for insurers to develop a claims staff of insurance claims professionals. Insurance is a business of utmost good faith. Each party to the contract of insurance must do nothing…

Zalma on Insurance

Earth Movement Exclusion Defeats Claim

By Barry Zalma on June 21, 2019

Court Determines Proximate Cause of Damage is Excluded Regardless of the desires of people who buy insurance no insurance policy covers every possible cause of damage to real or personal property. First party property insurance policies insure against the risk of loss to described property by perils insured against. Some policies claim to insure against “all risks” of physical loss but still add exclusions to limit the coverages provided. Others insure against named perils. None…

Tax Blogs