New York lawmakers recently introduced two bills to expand the application of the New York State False Claims Act (“FCA”). The first intends to require the FCA to apply to non-filers, the second to remove the scienter element (i.e., no longer imposing a “knowing” requirement). Although both bills are retroactive and concerning, removing the scienter element should put all businesses on high alert as enforcement of the tax laws could now be in the hands…
In City & County of San Francisco v. All Persons Interested in the Matter of Proposition C, Dkt. A158645 (Cal. App., June 30, 2020), the California Court of Appeal upheld Proposition C—a voter initiative that created a new local business tax in San Francisco. The court upheld the initiative that was enacted by a simple majority of electors. This ruling answers a question that was been heavily debated since the California Supreme Court’s decision in California Cannabis Coalition v. City of Upland, 3 Cal. 5th 924 (Cal. 2017). That is, do special taxes proposed by voter initiative require a supermajority of voters to pass? This decision expressly narrows the supermajority requirement to only those tax measures proposed directly by local governments and will likely trigger more tax initiatives proposed and passed by citizen groups.
As the weather is heating up, the Texas tax front continues to bring hot and exciting developments in the Lone Star State. Two of the latest updates usher in a change to the sourcing of local sales tax for certain internet sales and the end of Texas’s internet access tax. Internet Sales The Texas Comptroller has adopted amended regulations under 34 Tex. Admin. Code § 3.34 relating to the location where an internet order is…
With many employees now telecommuting due to the COVID-19 outbreak, employers could face additional state income tax withholding requirements if their employees telecommute from a different state than the one in which they typically work. However, a few states are starting to announce temporary withholding relief in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.