Author Archives: Michael Giovannini

Michael Giovannini
Michael is a senior associate in the firm's State & Local Tax Group, focusing his practice on advising clients and providing practical planning services with respect to various state and local tax and unclaimed property issues.  Read More →

Thanks for the Memories, Quill: The Supreme Court Adopts a New Nexus Standard for Use Tax Collection

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The U.S. Supreme Court’s Wayfair decision overturns decades-old precedent and fundamentally changes the use tax collection landscape while leaving a number of questions unanswered. Our State & Local Tax Group explains how this decision has huge implications for online retailers, states’ coffers, and consumers’ wallets. The physical-presence standard under Quill is no more What is the new standard? Retroactivity and a host of other unresolved issues Read the full advisory here. [...]Read more

Predicting the Possible “Perfect Storm” of Unclaimed Property Trends in 2018

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Our Unclaimed Property Group looks ahead to 2018’s perfect storm of holder- and state-initiated litigation and more. Litigation – what happened and what’s next Adopting the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act The ABA’s Model Unclaimed Property Act Delaware’s VDA program Read the full advisory here. [...]Read more

Delaware Finalizes Much-Anticipated

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In the wake of litigation, Delaware revamped its Escheats Law in early 2017. Now the state has issued final regulations required by the legislation. Our Unclaimed Property Team takes stock of the changes and the quickly approaching deadline for holders to act. Regulations reflect the same old Delaware audit practices Holders must consider whether to convert an audit to a VDA When exactly is the deadline? Read the full advisory here. [...]Read more

Unclaimed Property ADVISORY: Illinois General Assembly Stealthily Enacts Version of Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act

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Illinois passed its first budget in two years – and snuck in (a modified version of) the 2016 Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act. Our Unclaimed Property Team unearths the Act’s numerous provisions, many of them unfavorable for holders. Eliminating the B2B exemption Other variations from the uniform Act and current Illinois law Potential legal hurdles Read the advisory here. [...]Read more

Illinois Stealthily Enacts Version of RUUPA as Part of Budget Bill

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This week, the Illinois General Assembly enacted budget legislation (SB 9) to much fanfare.  Although most news stories will likely focus on the fact that the state has a budget for the first time in several years, the real breaking news in the unclaimed property world is that a version of the 2016 Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act ("RUUPA") was included as part of SB 9.  A RUUPA bill (HB 2603) had previously been introduced and considered in the legislature but had been stagnant since March.  However, Illinois' version of RUUPA is enacted and effective on January 1, 2018, seemingly [...]Read more

Unclaimed Property ADVISORY: Sailing the Sea Change of Delaware’s New Escheat Law

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Now that Delaware's rewrite of its escheats laws is enshrined in Delaware law, holders will soon be faced with making some important decisions about audits and the VDA program. Our Unclaimed Property Group takes stock of what it means for holders going forward. Read the full advisory here. [...]Read more

Delaware’s Unclaimed Property Overhaul Legislation Awaits the Governor’s Signature

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Exactly two weeks after introduction, Delaware’s major unclaimed property overhaul bill – SB 13 – passed both the Senate and the House of Delaware’s General Assembly on January 26.  The bill is now on the desk of newly inaugurated Governor Carney and is awaiting signature.  We have previously addressed some of the significant features of SB 13 here.  To summarize, SB 13 represents a complete rewrite of the Delaware Escheats Law in reaction to the Temple-Inland decision and other recent unclaimed property developments.  Although SB 13 is inspired by and based in part on the new 2016 [...]Read more

Unclaimed Property ADVISORY: Delaware Moves to Revamp Its Unclaimed Property Law

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Our Unclaimed Property Group explores legislation introduced in the state Senate that if enacted, would prompt a sea change in Delaware law governing abandoned and unclaimed property.

Read the full advisory here.

New York Looks to Further Restrict Gift Card Practices

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In December, we wrote about a new gift card law in New York that took effect on Christmas day (http://www.alston.com/advisories/ny-gift-card-legislation/), which was enacted by Senate Bill S. 4771-E. Under that now-effective law: Gift card issuers are prohibited from charging a service fee before the twenty-fifth month of dormancy, and any service fees that are applied after this time must be waived and put back on the card if the card is used within three years of the issue date. No gift card may have an expiration date of earlier than five years from the date the card was issued or the [...]Read more