Category

Constitutional Issues

Category

On March 4, 2022, a federal judge ruled that the federal Tax Injunction Act (“TIA”) bars a challenge to Maryland’s Digital Advertising Gross Revenues Tax (“Digital Ad Tax”) from proceeding in federal district court, but does not bar the plaintiffs from challenging Maryland’s prohibition on passing the tax to a customer “by means of a separate fee, surcharge, or line-item” (the “Pass-Through Prohibition”). Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America v. Franchot, No.…

Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the physical presence nexus requirement for state sales and use taxes in South Dakota v. Wayfair, 138 S. Ct. 2080 (2018), taxpayers and practitioners have questioned the extent to which the Court’s holding applies to locally administered sales and use taxes.  This question is often rooted in the Court’s statement in Wayfair that “States may not impose undue burdens on interstate commerce” and its reference to Pike v.…

In Siemens USA Holdings Inc. v. Geisenberger, No. 20-2991 (3d Cir. 2021), the Third Circuit found that the District Court erred (1) in holding that Siemens’ preemption claim was unripe, and (2) in denying Siemens’ motion for a preliminary injunction.  Both the question of ripeness and the injunction request related to whether the escheat priority rules preempted certain audit procedures, as opposed to the validity of an assessment.  Specifically, Siemens brought the lawsuit claiming, among…

The Supreme Court has denied review of New Hampshire’s lawsuit against Massachusetts seeking to invalidate the latter’s controversial personal income tax sourcing regulation. The Supreme Court’s highly anticipated decision was likely influenced by the acting U.S. Solicitor General’s amicus brief arguing against the Supreme Court taking up the case. The Supreme Court has thus passed on reviewing the broader issue of whether and to what extent a state may impose its personal income tax on…