William P Cook

Tax Alerts

Tax Briefing(s)

2018 Year-End Tax Planning Tax Reform 2.0 2018 Post-Filing Season Update Congress Approves Sweeping Tax Overhaul

New Relief Procedures Allow Former Citizens to Avoid Covered Expatriate Treatment
The IRS has announced new relief procedures for certain individuals who have relinquished their U.S citizenship but want to come into compliance with their U.S. income tax and reporting obligations an...

New Tax Withholding Estimator Tool Helps Employees and Self-Employed
The IRS has reminded taxpayers that the new Tax Withholding Estimator tool includes a feature designed to make it simpler for employees who received self-employment income to accurately estimate the r...

Low-Income Housing Credit Relief Guidelines Provided for California
The IRS has expanded relief provided in Rev. Proc. 2014-49, I.R.B. 2014-37, 535, and Rev. Proc. 2014-50, I.R.B. 2014-37, 540, to owners of qualified low-income housing projects and to issuers of exemp...

IRS Encourages Taxpayers to Develop Emergency Preparedness Plan
The IRS has reminded taxpayers—whether individuals, organizations or businesses—to develop an emergency preparedness plan as the peak of hurricane season fast approaches.Taxpayers should p...

CAP Application Period Now Open
The IRS announced the opening of the application period for its 2020 Compliance Assurance Process (CAP) program. Eligible new corporate applicants for CAP must (1) have assets of $10 million or more; ...

List of Countries with U.S. Exchange of Information Agreements Updated
The IRS has added Georgia to the list of countries with which the United States has an agreement relating to the exchange of tax information. Under these agreements the United States consents to provi...

AK - Governor calls for constitutional amendments in sos address
In his first State of the State (SOS) address, Alaska Gov. Michael J. Dunleavy announced three constitutional amendments he plans to introduce. The amendments, which will be what he called "the f...

AR - Refund denied for failure to use appropriate apportionment method
A taxpayer’s claim for an Arkansas corporate income tax refund was properly denied because the taxpayer failed to utilize an appropriate apportionment method for the purpose of determining its A...

CA - State elections for partnership audit adjustments clarified
California has clarified when it will grant requests to make state elections for partnership audit adjustments. The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) must grant a partnership’s request to make an electi...

CO - Remote seller had substantial nexus for sale of exempt products
A remote seller doing business in Colorado had substantial nexus with Colorado and had to collect and remit state sales tax.Meeting the thresholdThe remote seller manufactured and sold baked goods for...

DE - Estimated tax exemption created for pass-through entity real estate sales
Nonresident pass-through entities must pay estimated tax on income and gain from the sale or exchange of Delaware real estate. A nonresident pass-through entity must pay the tax before the state recor...

FL - Florida corporate income tax rate reduced
The Florida Department of Revenue (department) issued a publication informing corporate income taxpayers that the tax rate has been reduced from 5.5% to 4.458% for tax years beginning on or after Janu...

GA - Serving of legal documents discussed
The Georgia Department of Revenue (department) issued a bulletin discussing the appropriate methods for serving a legal document to the department. Under Georgia law, only the Commissioner or his/her ...

HI - Mandatory electronic filing of Hawaii corporate income tax returns starting January 2020
Corporate income taxpayers liable for tax under sections 235-71, 235-71.5, or 235-72 of Hawaii Revenue Statutes must file their returns due on or after January 1, 2020, electronically. Currently, taxp...

IL - Taxpayer liable to pay tax on purchase of motor vehicle
An administrative law judge (ALJ) properly ruled that a taxpayer was required to pay Illinois nonretailer use tax on a motor vehicle she purchased from a private seller, because she failed to prove th...

IN - County income rates adjusted
Indiana has announced county income tax rates that are effective October 1, 2019.Which Counties Increased the Rate?Counties increasing their rates include:Clay from 0.0225 to 0.0235;Clinton from 0.022...

IA - Request for refund denied as untimely
For Iowa personal income tax purposes, a married couple (taxpayers) was not entitled to a refund because they did not file their refund claims within the statutory limitation period. Generally, a taxp...

LA - Valuation of property remanded for recalculation
For property tax purposes, the Louisiana Court of Appeal affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s decision because the district court erred in affirming the Louisiana Tax Commi...

ME - Guidance on valuation and appeal procedures updated
Maine Revenue Services has updated its guidance on valuation and appeal procedures for property tax purposes. Topics covered include definitions, state valuations and appeal to the State Board of Prop...

MD - Nexus properly established as subsidiary lacked economic substance
An intellectual holding company and wholly-owned subsidiary of a multi-national producer and marketer of processed foods was confirmed to have sufficient contacts with Maryland to establish the requir...

MS - Amendments to dividend income regulation proposed
The Mississippi Department of Revenue has proposed amendments to the corporate income tax regulation that governs dividend income. Among other changes, the proposed changes would:provide that dividend...

MO - Local tax rate changes announced
The following local Missouri sales and use tax rate changes take effect October 1, 2019. Also, new rates are listed for each county, city, and special district affected by the rate changes.County Chan...

NE - Computer reporting procedure for forms W-2 and W-2g released
For corporate and personal income tax purposes, the Nebraska Department of Revenue (department) released an information guide addressing the computer reporting procedure for forms W-2 and W-2G. Accord...

NV - Clark county tax increase coming
Nevada’s most populated county, Clark County, will soon see a sales and use tax increase.Sales Tax Rate IncreaseEffective January 1, 2020, Clark County’s sales and use tax rate will be 8.3...

NH - Attorney general offers advice to sellers contacted by another state
The New Hampshire Attorney General has advised New Hampshire businesses that have been contacted by another state regarding sales tax collection to contact:an accountant, attorney, or other appropriat...

NM - CEO personally liable for company’s unpaid withholding tax
For New Mexico corporate income tax purposes, the chief executive officer (CEO) of a company was liable for the company’s unpaid withholding taxes because the CEO met the definition of "emp...

NY - Petition for summary determination denied because material and triable issues of fact existed
A limited liability company’s (taxpayer’s) petition for summary determination filed pursuant to the denial of its claim for a refund of New York sales and use tax was properly dismissed be...

NC - SST boundary database updated
The North Carolina Department of Revenue has updated information related to the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax (SST) Agreement. The sales tax boundary database, which specifies the boundaries for all t...

OK - Electronic filer handbook issued for TY 2019
The Oklahoma Tax Commission has updated its individual income tax electronic filer handbook for tax year 2019.ChangesThe handbook includes an updated electronic filing calendar for 2019. In addition, ...

OR - Department to hold meetings seeking input from taxpayers and preparers regarding administrative rules for cat
The Oregon Department of Revenue issued a news release informing corporate income taxpayers and tax preparers that it will host a series of meetings across the state over the next three weeks to seek ...

PA - 2020 Purta surcharge rate announced
The result of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Realty Tax Act (PURTA) surcharge rate calculation for the tax year beginning January 1, 2020, is zero mills. Therefore, no surcharge will be imposed. ...

SC - Amazon was liable for South Carolina tax on third-party merchant sales
Amazon Services is liable for South Carolina sales taxes on the sale of third-party merchant products because it is "in the business of selling" for purposes of the Sales and Use Tax Act. Am...

TN - Charges for web-based information database service are not subject to tax
Charges for access to a web-based information database service are not subject to Tennessee sales and use tax.How Do Customers Access the Web-Based Information Database?The taxpayer:compiles data;stor...

TX - Manager of company personally responsible to remit taxes
The manager of a company (taxpayer) that operated two restaurants was held personally liable for the company’s Texas sales and mixed beverage tax. Under Texas law, an individual who controls or ...

UT - Assessment sustained as taxpayers were state domiciliary
A married couple (taxpayers) was properly assessed Utah personal income tax because they were domiciled state residents during the tax years at issue. In this matter, the taxpayers moved to another st...

VA - Assessment abated as taxpayer was not state domiciliary
A Virginia personal income tax assessment against a taxpayer was abated because she was not a domiciliary resident of Virginia in 2015. The Department of Taxation received information from the Interna...

WY - SST taxability matrix and certificate of compliance updated
Wyoming updated its Streamlined Sales and Use Tax (SST) Agreement taxability matrix and certificate of compliance. The changes are effective August 1, 2019. Taxability Matrix, Wyoming Department ...