Alston & Bird Tax Blog

SCOTUS

Supreme Court–Appointed Special Master Applies Place-of-Purchase Jurisdictional Rule to MoneyGram’s Unclaimed “Official Checks”

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Our Unclaimed Property Team reviews the report of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Special Master parsing the definitions of “money orders” and “similar instruments” and how those words decide if certain unclaimed property falls under federal common law or the federal Disposition of Abandoned Money Orders and Traveler’s Checks Act. The report is a master class in statutory constructionThe Special Master analyzed MoneyGram “official checks” to determine those meet three statutory conditions for an instrument to constitute a “similar instrument”This analytical framework may have broader [...]Read more

Taxpayers Can Strike First: Supreme Court Allows Pre-Enforcement Challenges to Certain IRS Regulatory Actions

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Our Federal Tax Group examines a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that could give taxpayers greater leeway to challenge IRS regulatory schemes before the IRS takes enforcement action. CIS Services v. IRS narrows the reach of the Anti-Injunction ActThree features of Notice 2016-66 helped the Court overturn lower courts’ rulings in favor of the IRSThe IRS’s rule-making process now open to more Administrative Procedure Act challenges Read the full advisory here. [...]Read more

Taxpayer Win on Retroactivity: An Important Step for New York Tax Law

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Earlier this week, our State & Local Tax Team examined the New York Appellate Division’s rejection of the state’s attempt to retroactively unwind already-claimed taxed credits after a New York court invalidates the state’s retroactive application of tax legislation as violating the Due Process Clause.

Applying New York’s three-factor standard to determine whether a retroactive tax law is constitutional
Comparing a taxpayer-friendly outcome to a taxpayer defeat
It all comes down to how and why

Read the full advisory here. [...]Read more

Indian Tribe Taxes in the States

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In response to a Supreme Court decision on state taxation of an Indian tribe, our Federal Tax Group parses the meaning of what is actually being taxed and the broader implications for taxpayers.

The Treaty of 1855
Two points of broader significance
Identifying the right arguments

Click here to read the full advisory. [...]Read more

U.S. Supreme Court Carves a Narrow Taxpayer Win on Due Process in Kaestner

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One year after dropping the landmark Wayfair decision, our State & Local Tax Group examines why this year’s Supreme Court decision in North Carolina Department of Revenue v. Kimberley Rice Kaestner 1992 Family Trust won’t leave much of a mark.

Kaestner focuses narrowly on the trust at issue in the case
The Court goes out of its way to ensure that the decision does not affect precedent
The decision reaffirms the due-process test of Quill

Read the full advisory here. [...]Read more