SALT Blog 

On June 12, 2017, The Honorable James Sensenbrenner (R. WI 5^th District) introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives a bill, designated H.R. 2887, which would codify the nexus standard set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, 504 U.S. 298 (1992).

The bill is set against the backdrop of multiple recent attempts by the states to persuade the Supreme Court to take a case that would revisit and overturn Quill.  Quill held that the dormant Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution prohibits a state (or local taxing authority) from imposing upon a retailer an ...

During May 2017, H.R. 327 was introduced and reported as committed by the House on June 13, 2017.  H.R. 327 would establish a select subcommittee on tax modernization and reform to investigate, review, and make recommendations concerning the process, rates, and methods by which revenue in Pennsylvania is collected and assessed on taxpayers.

The purpose of the Resolution is to examine and review Pennsylvania’s system of taxation to ensure an equitable and efficient means by which taxes are assessed and collected and to facilitate a fair and competitive marketplace in an ...

During 2016, Tennessee amended its law to join the growing list of states challenging Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, 504 U.S. 298 (1992).  Pursuant to Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. § 1320-05-01.129(2) (“Rule 129”), out-of-state dealers were required to register by March 1, 2017 and begin collecting sales tax by July 1, 2017.  Essentially, Rule 129 requires an out-of-state seller to collect and remit Tennessee sale and use tax based solely upon solicitation of sales from outside of Tennessee  in excess of the $500,000 statutory minimum in the state.  Thus, Rule 129 is a direct challenge to Quill

As our previous post explains, the U.S. Supreme Court had extended the time to file petitions for certiorari in Crutchfield Corp. v. Joseph W. Testa, Tax Commissioner of Ohio (U.S. Supreme Court Docket No. 16A774), involving the Ohio Commercial Activity Tax (“CAT”).  However, prior to the deadline, the parties agreed to forego further litigation and entered into an undisclosed settlement agreement.  As such, the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision upholding the Ohio CAT stands. See Crutchfield Corp. v. Joseph W. Testa, Tax Commissioner of Ohio, 2016 WL 6775765 (2016).

Those hoping ...

As previously reported on the SALT Blawg, Chamberlain Hrdlicka attorneys Stewart M. Weintraub and Adam M. Koelsch, together with Peter L. Faber of McDermott, of Will & Emery LLP, filed in the U.S. Supreme Court an amicus brief on behalf of the American College of Tax Counsel in support of the petitioners challenging a retroactive repeal of tax legislation by the state of Michigan.  Although the petitioners and the amici had asserted various reasons for granting certiorari, the most prominent of those assertions was that the repeal, stretching seven years into the past, violates the Due ...

Just a few months after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the decision of the Tenth Circuit in Direct Mktg. Ass’n v. Brohl -- which upheld Colorado’s sales tax notice and reporting requirements for out-of-state retailers -- a Pennsylvania lawmaker has reintroduced a bill requiring online retailers to notify Pennsylvania purchasers when sales and use tax is due on their purchases.

In 2010, the Colorado legislature enacted a statute which requires a remote retailer that sells products to Colorado customers, but does not collect Colorado sales tax, to notify those ...

In less than two (2) months, Pennsylvania's 2017 Tax Amnesty Program will commence.  Those individuals with potential Pennsylvania tax liabilities should consider taking advantage of the program, which is slated to run from April 21, 2017 through June 19, 2017.  During those sixty (60) days, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue (“Department”) will waive all penalties and half of the interest for anyone who participates.

The program applies to delinquencies existing as of December 31, 2015 – whether or not the delinquency is known to the Department.  The litany of taxes ...

Crutchfield appealed from imposition of the CAT upon revenue it earned from sales of electronic products within Ohio. Crutchfield is based outside of Ohio, maintains no employees in Ohio, and maintains no facilities in Ohio. The sole business that Crutchfield conducts in Ohio is via the shipment of goods from outside the state to consumers within the state using the United States Postal Service or common-carrier delivery services. Crutchfield contested the issuance of CAT assessments contending that substantial nexus within a state is a necessary prerequisite to imposing the tax ...

Recently, in Elan Pharm. v. Division of Taxation, the Tax Court of New Jersey issued a non-binding opinion that further limits the Division of Taxation’s enforcement of the controversial “throw out rule.”

Sometimes, when a multi-state taxpayer apportions its income, that taxpayer will source a receipt to a state in which the receipt is not subject to tax, either because the state has chosen not to tax it or because the state is not able to do so. One reason that a receipt may not be taxable, and a reason at issue in Elan Pharm., is P.L. 86-272 -- a federal law that prohibits a state from ...