Media Mentions
2008
Art Rosen was quoted in the May 15 issue of Sales & Use Tax Monitor in an article regarding the case of Amazon.com Inc./Seattle vs. the New York Supreme Court and its potentially huge implications for companies making sales into states where they lack a physical presence. "So far, no state has enacted anything close to what this does in New York," Mr. Rosen said. "There are several states that will impose nexus on a company that has a brick-and-mortar affiliate in a state, but that's as far as it goes," he added.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the May 15 issue of Sales & Use Tax Monitor in an article regarding the complexity of sales tax compliance in the state of New York. "The rules are so arcane," Mr. Rosen said. "It makes it so difficult. In New York, a Twix bar is taxable if it's on the shelf with candy and exempt if it's on the shelf with cookies. Little marshmallows are used for cooking and therefore exempt, but big marshmallows are considered candy and therefore taxable," he added.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the March 15 issue of Sales & Use Tax Monitor about how company tax pros should not be surprised when an auditor turns to an alternative methodology or when a tax appeals panel upholds that back-up approach. "It's been going on pretty regularly over the last 15 years," said Mr. Rosen.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the March 15 issue of State Income Tax Monitor about how a guilty plea and an agreement to pay restitution over tax fraud will not always pull you off the state's hook. "A lot of people get blindsided by this," said Mr. Rosen. "Unless the taxation department signs off on the plea agreement, they are not prevented from seeking past due tax, penalties and interest. The attorney general can offer a deal, but the tax department doesn't have to honor it."
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the February 29 issue of Sales & Use Tax Monitor about how the New York Taxation Division has undertaken some creative approaches to calculate a business' taxable sales, when that taxpayer lacks the proper records to satisfy the auditor. "The state can pick any method that they want to on an audit, when there are insufficient records," pointed out Mr. Rosen. "The taxpayer usually can't prove the method was unreasonable if the records are not there."
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the February 5 issue of State Income Tax Monitor about how the U.S. Supreme Court won't hear arguments from two affiliated limousine companies and their owner who say New York authorities persecuted them with a sales and use tax assessment. "You need to be able to prove that there was malicious intent," said Mr. Rosen. "There are people in the department of taxation that do tend to probably act in that way, but it's difficult to prove," he added.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
2007
Art Rosen was quoted in the August 15 edition of Sales & Use Tax Monitor on how New York state's fraud penalty against a corporation for uncollected sales tax was voided, and then the penalty against the individual responsible officer was. "This one's pretty clear. It says if there's a conciliation notice saying the company is not guilty of fraud, then the fraud charges are removed vis-à-vis the responsible person," Mr. Rosen said.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Peter Faber was quoted on May 22 on The Wall Street Journal Online about the challenge by a Kentucky couple to a Kentucky state law that exempts interest on bonds issued within Kentucky while taxing interest on most non-Kentucky municipal bonds. Most states that have a state income tax, such as New York and California, have similar laws. "This is an issue of great national importance that involves many investors in state and local bonds," said Mr. Faber.
Peter L. Faber, State & Local Tax, Tax, Tax Controversy, Tax Exempt Bonds
Fred Ackerson was mentioned in the May 14 edition of the Crain’s Chicago Business about recently joining McDermott’s Tax Department in Chicago.
Fred M. Ackerson, State & Local Tax, Tax
Fred Ackerson was mentioned in the May 8 edition of the Daily Deal/The Deal and the May 10 edition of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin about recently joining McDermott’s Tax Department in Chicago.
Fred M. Ackerson, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the April 30 issue of Sales & Use Tax Monitor about the tangible version of a product is exempt from sales tax while the electronic version is taxable. "I read that opinion and thought, 'Whoa, you don't see that every day,'" Mr. Rosen said.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax, Tax Controversy
Art Rosen was quoted in the April 15 issue of Sales & Use Tax Monitor about how the Taxation and Finance Department ruled that an out-of-state seller of service contracts established sufficient nexus in New York to have to register and collect sales and use tax. "New York, like California, has been a physical presence state when it comes to determining nexus," Mr. Rosen said.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Peter Faber was quoted in the March 27 edition of The New York Times in an article about the New York governor's office closing "loopholes" that corporations use to reduce their tax bills in order to balance the state budget, although many business leaders say there are no loopholes to close.
Peter L. Faber, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the February 15 and February 28 issues of State Income Tax Monitor on the $1 billion in business and personal tax cuts including in New York mayor Michael Bloomberg's preliminary city budget. "Even with the increase, the per-partner deduction is out of touch with reality," Mr. Rosen said. "There should be something related to compensation levels rather than just a small flat amount for the deduction."
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Keith Staats was quoted in the February 15 issue of Sales & Use Tax Monitor in an article concerning the compliance and legal difficulties of the tax holiday proposals of Chicago mayoral candidate Dorothy Brown. The holidays would apply only to certain areas and certain businesses resulting in complicated enforcement and questionable constitutionality. "You can't implement a sales tax holiday without enabling legislation," Mr. Staats said.
Keith Staats, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was mentioned in the February issue of the Metropolitan Corporate Counsel as one of the overall planning chairs for the upcoming New York State Bar Association’s Eleventh Annual New York State and City Tax Institute.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the January 31 issue of the Sales & Use Tax Monitor and in the February issue of Tax Incentives Alert in an article about sales tax exemptions on property capital improvements in New York. “New York has always been very mechanical in the way they apply the capital improvement part of the sales tax law. They look at the letter of the law rather than the merits of an individual case,” Mr. Rosen said.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the February issue of Managing Accounts Payable for a speech he recently gave at NYU, where he stated that the atmosphere of the new Congress was more friendly to the passage of the Streamlined Sales Tax.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the January 15 issue of Sales & Use Tax Monitor citing the MTC 95-1 bulletin as the interpretation used by New York tax authorities to apply sales tax to vendors using in-state, third-party repair services for service contracts purchased online.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
2006
Art Rosen was quoted in the November 30 issue of State Income Tax Monitor on West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals' decision to uphold economic nexus on MBNA America Bank's marketing. According to Mr. Rosen, the decision underscores "the definite need for federal legislation like H.R. 1956," which would order a physical presence nexus standard for state business activity taxes.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the November 15 issue of Sales & Use Tax Monitor in an article on the appointment of Barbara G. Billet as acting commissioner of the New York Taxation and Finance Department following the resignation last month of Andrew S. Eristoff. "One of the things I've learned in many years in the business is that the attitude of the person at the top of the agency will trickle down to the line people eventually," Mr. Rosen said.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the October 15 issues of State Income Tax Monitor and Sales & Use Tax Monitor in an article about a company official who tried to avoid liability for unpaid sales tax. In reference to the official's claim that the signatures on tax returns weren't his, Mr. Rosen said, "I'm surprised the state didn't try to get this guy for lying to them on top of what he owed. They must be getting soft or something."
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Peter Faber was mentioned in the September 5 issue of Tax Analysts about State Tax Notes publishing its 15th anniversary issue. Mr. Faber's essay on changes in tax practice over the last 15 years will appear in the issue.
Peter L. Faber, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the August 31 issue of Sales & Use Tax Monitor in an article detailing the pitfalls companies face in distributing promotional materials in different tax jurisdictions, where local laws may or may not levy sales or use taxes on the materials. Mr. Rosen noted that such a company would need to keep detailed records in case of an audit, and considering the difficulty involved they would have to make a decision. "Either you do want to do it on your own or make an arrangement with the company that's delivering the materials for you to keep track of where you are sending the items for tax purposes," Mr. Rosen said.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the June 30 issue of State Income Tax Monitor about rolling stock having a decent chance once they get beyond administrative appeals and into court. "I'd say it's about 50-50" odds, he said
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the May 31 issue of State Income Tax Monitor and the June 15 issue of Sales & Use Tax Monitor in an article about RICO claims. "the bottom line is that it appears that RICO, proposed as a tool to force a company to collect tax by another taxpayer, is not allowable," he said.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the May 15 issue of Sales & Use Tax Monitor in an article about the Streamlined Sales Tax Project. "It seems to me that the problems with enacting the laws in states like Tennessee, Ohio, Texas and Utah regarding origin-based sourcing will [effectively] keep them out of the process for the foreseeable future," he said.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the January 15 issue of Sales & Use Tax Monitor in an article about how a sales tax overpayment can be credited against a previous underpayment-provided the company meets specific conditions. "If you send in a check and you tell the state how to apply it, they have to apply it that way," Mr. Rosen said. "If you don’t specify how the payment is applied, the state can do what it wants with it," he added.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
2005
Art Rosen was quoted in the October 31 issue of State Income Tax Monitor in an article about the legal fees and value of precedent involved when making a decision on taking a tax case to court. "Insofar as any court case can be considered 'typical,' about $100,000 in outside legal fees is a decent ballpark figure for a tax dispute of $1 million, " said Mr. Rosen.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the September 15 issue of State Income Tax Monitor in an article about MCI will need to pay $315 million-plus in back state income taxes to 14 states and the District of Columbia when it operated as WorldCom. Many more states are expected to come after MCI. "I have never seen the 'management foresight' concept put forth before by a major taxpayer. I think you can expect states to be hyper-vigilant about this in the future," Mr. Rosen said.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Peter Faber was mentioned in the July 17 issue of The Wall Street Journal - Sunday in a tax Q&A column in regard to filing of an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Tennessee man, a Firm client, who had to pay New York taxes on all of his income even though he spent only about 25 percent of his working days in New York. Mr.Faber mentioned he knows of other similar cases.
Peter L. Faber, State & Local Tax, Tax
Peter Faber was quoted in the July 13 issue of The Wall Street Journal in a business brief about his filing of an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court from the New York's Court of Appeals' ruling that a Tennessee man, a Firm client, had to pay New York taxes on all of his income from a New York employer – even though he spent only about 25 percent of his working days in New York.
Peter L. Faber, State & Local Tax, Tax
Peter Faber was mentioned in the April 6 issue of the Wall Street Journal. The article discusses a recent ruling by New York's Court of Appeals that a computer specialist from Nashville, Tennessee has to pay New York taxes on 100 percent of his income from a New York employer – even though he spent only about 25 percent of his time in New York and the other 75 percent in Tennessee. The decision will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Faber commented, "If this decision stands up, there will be virtually no limit on the ability of states to tax nonresident telecommuters."
Peter L. Faber, State & Local Tax, Tax
Thomas Donohoe was quoted in the March 21 issue of the Chicago Sun-Times, noted as the attorney representing the Illinois Chamber of Commerce in its lawsuit against the state of Illinois challenging the Industrial Commission Operation Fund Surcharge.
Thomas H. Donohoe, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the February 7 issue of The Bond Buyer about the reintroduction of the business-activity tax bill. "There simply is not basis for any contention" that the bill would cause significant state revenue losses," Mr. Rosen said.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Peter Faber was quoted in the January 3 issue of the New York Law Journal in an article regarding a case that bears critical importance to the future of telecommuting in the state of New York. Even though Thomas Huckaby of Tennessee spends little time in New York and virtually does no work in New York, the state of New York claims it can tax 100 percent of his income since his employer is based in Queens. "Mr. Huckaby's case presents the plight of a nonresident telecommuter. Telecommuting did not exist when the regulation at issue first appeared on the scene, but it is widespread now," Mr. Faber argued in his brief.
Peter L. Faber, State & Local Tax, Tax
2004
Peter Faber was quoted in the New York Sun on August 4 regarding the proposal that would require states to tax the income of nonresidents based on the physical location of the employee during work hours, not the address of the employer. Mr. Faber explained that "as applied to telecommuters the current rules are just awful. Federal legislation is what happens when state tax departments adopt positions that people regard as unfair."
Peter L. Faber, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the Sunday, July 18 issue of the Los Angeles Times in regard to taxing out-of-state athletes as a result of the so called "jock taxes" on nonresidents. Mr. Rosen commented that virtually every state with an income tax system has the right to tax the income of visiting out-of-towners, but that nonresident tax laws are often vague and it is tough to figure out when a diligent taxpayer should be filing a return in another state. While there does not appear to be hope for the hapless athlete, Mr. Rosen commented that federal legislation (HR 3220) would address the problem of how much time in a state is sufficient to subject a business to tax in that state. HR 3220 would implement a 21-day rule under which a business could only be subjected to tax in a state if it had tangible property or employees in the state for more than 21 days.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Peter Faber was quoted in the May 3 edition of the New York Law Journal in an article regarding a ruling that a Tennessee resident, who telecommutes to his New York employer must pay income tax on 100 percent of his earnings even though he only spends a quarter of his time there. Under the convenience of the employer test, out-of-state employees of in-state employers are allowed to allocate income between their home and working states, but only if they work out of New York due to the employer's necessity. Mr. Faber argued that the test contradicts Tax Law §631, which allows New York to tax nonresidents only on income resulting from work "carried on" in this state.
Peter L. Faber, State & Local Tax, Tax
Peter Faber was quoted in the April 30 weekend edition of The New York Sun in an article regarding a lawsuit challenging New York's income tax on telecommuters from other states. McDermott is representing a computer programmer, Thomas Huckaby, from Tennessee who lost in a lower appellate court and plans to take his case to the Court of Appeals. In November, the Court of Appeals rejected a similar case from a Manhattan law school professor, who worked part-time from his home in Connecticut. Mr. Faber said the case failed because the court focused on the fact that professor's real job was in New York. "...In Huckaby's case, in contrast, his real job is working in Tennessee...He's a computer programmer, so he could do that anywhere," commented Mr. Faber.
Peter L. Faber, State & Local Tax, Tax
2002
Arthur Rosen was mentioned in the August 9 issue of Kiplinger Business Forecasts regarding the proposed Streamlined Sales Tax Project, which goal is to bring to order over 7500 state and local sales taxes. Mr. Rosen commented that the project could justify applying other taxes to businesses headquartered outside their respective state borders.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the July 18 issue of The New York Times regarding a bill, which recently passed that would let companies avoid state and local taxes. Those companies supporting the bill, currently represented by a McDermott Will & Emery team led by Mr. Rosen, say that with this bill the obligation to pay state and local taxes will merely be shifted to benefit those places where companies use state and local services. Mr. Rosen commented that, "There need be not one penny less of state tax revenue collected."
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in, "Setback in State Sales-Tax Plan Hurts Push for Levies on Web Sales," published in the July 15 issue of The Wall Street Journal. The effort to simplify state sales tax, which was to be a precursor to convincing Congress to allow states to tax internet transactions, hit a setback when retailers and state officials could not come to agreement on a uniform tax code. Mr. Rosen commented that whatever they do come up with needs to be a "harmonization among the states." Currently, Mr. Rosen said, the states are considering a "subjective, mushy standard" that won't win the backing of the business community.
Arthur R. Rosen, e-Business, State & Local Tax, Tax
Art Rosen was quoted in the ABA Journal eReport on June 21 in regard to New Jersey's recent tax levy that demanded tax payments from more than 11,000 lawyers on any income from working in New Jersey pro hac vice during the past six years. Mr. Rosen said the levy raises quite a few questions, including the difference between making a physical appearance or simply signing paperwork filed in the state, among others.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax
Arthur Rosen was interviewed by emarketer.com regarding HR 2526, a proposed bill that states a business must have substantial physical presence in a state, or nexus, in order for the state to impose business activity taxes.
Arthur R. Rosen, State & Local Tax, Tax, Tax - e-Business
2001
Peter Faber was quoted in the April 2 issue of Business Week in regard to New York state's practice of taxing non-residents on all of their income, including income earned outside the state. Mr. Faber argued that the practice is unfair citing a case he is working on where he has petitioned the state commissioner of taxation and finance to reconsider the issue.
