Overview
Diann Smith, speaking at the Paul J. Hartman State and Local Tax Forum in Nashville, Tennessee, addressed the Supreme Court’s focus on the due process clause to decide Walden v. Fiore. That decision, Ms. Smith said, suggests that targeting an individual in a state and targeting a state generally as a market are different things, adding that possible issues raised by a stronger due process clause also include whether distributorships and leasing relationships are sufficient to establish tax nexus. The question is whether a taxpayer’s relationship with a third party not under the taxpayer’s control can subject it to tax in a state, she concluded.
