Alston & Bird Tax Blog

Controversies - State

‘Wayfair’: What Are the Practical Retroactivity Concerns?

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What is the practical risk that states attempt to apply Wayfair retroactively? And should taxpayers rush to limit exposure for historical periods by entering into voluntary disclosure agreements with states that might assess tax retroactively under Wayfair? In an article originally published in Bloomberg BNA’s Weekly State Tax Report, Zach Gladney and Charles Wakefield explain why applying Wayfair retroactively would be misguided and unsuccessful. To read the full article, click here. [...]Read more

SEC Staff Provides Guidance on the Tax Accounting Implications of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

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Our Securities Group analyzes the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new staff guidance on the accounting impacts U.S. tax reform will have on publicly traded companies and their financial statement disclosures. Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) No. 118 SEC Staff Compliance and Disclosure Interpretation (C&DI) 110.02 SEC Consultation Guidance Click here to read the full advisory. [...]Read more

Colorado Asks the Supreme Court to Overturn Quill

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On August 29, the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) submitted a certiorari petition to the U.S. Supreme Court asking the Court to review the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in Direct Marketing Association v. Brohl (Brohl II). The case already made one trip to the Supreme Court (Brohl I), in which the Court held that the Tax Injunction Act did not bar federal-court review of the case. On remand, the Tenth Circuit held that Colorado’s use tax reporting regime did not violate the Commerce Clause. (To refresh: Colorado’s regime requires out-of-state sellers to report sales to Colorado [...]Read more

The Panama Papers: Taking a New Look at an Old Problem

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On April 3, 2016, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (“ICIJ”) published more than 11.5 million documents connected to Mossack Fonseca, a Panama law firm that helped establish offshore financial operations for some of the world’s wealthiest power players. The implicated offshore operations allegedly failed to adhere to transparency and beneficial ownership reporting requirements thereby permitting some corporations to operate behind a veil of secrecy and avoid taxing authorities around the world. The release of the Panama Papers has prompted a new firestorm of international [...]Read more

State & Local Tax Advisory – Gillette Overturned: One Test, Two Decisions in California

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On Thursday, December 31, 2015, the Supreme Court of California issued its decision in Gillette Co. v. Franchise Tax Board, reversing the California Court of Appeal and holding that the Multistate Tax Compact is not a binding compact between its member states.  Accordingly, the California legislature had the authority to, and did in fact, replace the state’s equally weighted apportionment formula with a double-weighted-sales formula in 1993.  This highly anticipated decision by the California high court will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the landscape of ongoing disputes among taxpayers [...]Read more