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Constitutional Issues

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The City of Chicago begins its 2026 fiscal year with a new budget containing several key tax changes (linked here), headlined by a new “Social Media Amusement Tax” (or “SMAT”). Here’s what you need to know to stay on top of your 2026 Chicago tax compliance obligations: The Chicago Social Media Amusement Tax A handful of U.S. jurisdictions have introduced the concept of a social media tax (e.g., California, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, Washington, etc.) in…

In a unanimous decision issued on September 25, 2025, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court invalidated the City of Pittsburgh’s controversial Nonresident Sports Facility Usage Fee (commonly referred to as the “Jock Tax”), a 3% levy imposed solely on nonresident athletes and entertainers who earn income at the City’s publicly funded sports stadiums. Pittsburgh residents were exempt from the fee. The Court held that the tax violated the Uniformity Clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution, which requires that…

On July 4, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (hereinafter, “OBBBA” or “the Act”) into law. OBBBA enacts sweeping changes to the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”), many of which will impact taxpayers at the state level, including reforms to the federal state and local tax (“SALT”) deduction, Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (“GILTI”), Foreign-Derived Intangible Income (“FDII”), section 174 research and development expensing, and section 163(j) business interest deduction limitations. Notably,…

On May 31, 2025, the Illinois General Assembly passed HB2755 as part of the FY2026 budget bill, which contains a number of significant tax changes to the Illinois Income Tax Act and other taxes. Governor Pritzker appears set to sign the budget before July 1st. Major changes made by HB2755 include: (1) expanding the corporate income tax base with provisions specifically targeting multinational corporations, (2) expanding the Hotel Operator’s Occupation Tax (“HOOT”) tax base by…