Publications
-
10.02.2023Washington Appeals Court Guts B&O Tax Deduction for Investment IncomeArticlesThe Washington Supreme Court is considering a petition for discretionary review of a court of appeals decision with significant implications for investors, investment funds, and the business community. Most Washington investors and investment funds do not pay business and occupation (B&O) tax on their investment income because of a statutory deduction for “amounts derived from investments.”
-
08.07.2023Washington Court of Appeals Limits B&O Tax Deduction for Investment IncomeUpdatesThe Washington Court of Appeals has held that investment funds are subject to Washington state business and occupation tax on their investment income. Although Washington law allows taxpayers to deduct “amounts derived from investments” from their gross income, the court concluded that the deduction was limited to investments “incidental to the main purpose of a business.”
-
04.13.2020Gross Receipts Taxes in Washington and OregonArticlesOregon and Washington share a border, but their tax systems have historically been diametrically opposite. Oregon has corporate and personal net income taxes, but no sales tax; Washington has a B&O tax, or gross receipts tax, and a sales tax, but no net income taxes. That changed with Oregon’s adoption of its CAT, effective January 1.
-
05.06.2019New Washington State Real Estate Excise Tax LegislationUpdatesThe Washington Legislature completed its 2019 legislative session with the passage of sweeping changes to the real estate excise tax (REET).
-
05.02.2019New Washington Business and Occupation Tax Legislation Affects Service BusinessesUpdatesThe Washington Legislature’s 2019 session produced four bills increasing business and occupation (B&O) taxes.
-
06.22.2018South Dakota v. Wayfair: Practical Answers to Tax Questions Raised by Supreme Court DecisionUpdatesYesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled more than 50 years of Commerce Clause precedent to hold that a state may require an out-of-state retailer with no physical presence in the taxing state to collect sales and use taxes on sales of goods and services delivered in the state.
-
09.21.2015The Price of Customer Loyalty: Rewards Programs and Sales and Use Tax IssuesUpdatesRetailers and other businesses use loyalty and rewards programs to draw in customers throughout the year. However, there are several sales and use tax consequences of promoting consumer loyalty.
-
08.2015Sales and Use Tax Implications of Loyalty ProgramsArticles
WG&L Journals, Journal of Taxation
Examining a loyalty program reward's form, structure, and parameters is essential for determining the state sales and use tax consequences. Read the full article. -
05.01.2015Washington Court of Appeals: No Transactional Nexus Requirement or Dissociation for Washington B&O TaxUpdatesOn April 29, 2015, the Washington Court of Appeals issued an important tax decision in Avnet, Inc. v. Washington Department of Revenue, Dkt. No. 45108-5-II. In its most significant holding, the court of appeals effectively eliminated the transactional nexus requirement for Washington B&O tax.
-
12.12.2013Oregon Supreme Court Decides Sales Factor CaseUpdatesOn December 12, 2013, the Oregon Supreme Court issued its decision in Tektronix, Inc. v. Oregon Dep’t. of Revenue. The court held that the taxpayer’s receipts from the sale of goodwill, making up a part of the sale of a business division, were excluded from the sales factor under ORS 314.665(6)(a).
-
07.11.2013Washington Service B&O Tax Rate Drops From 1.8% to 1.5%UpdatesIn 2010, the Washington legislature passed significant B&O tax changes including the adoption of economic nexus and market sourcing for service activities, as well as the imposition of B&O tax on directors’ fees. However, the largest revenue raiser came from a temporary increase of the service B&O tax rate from 1.5% to 1.8% from May 1, 2010 through June 30, 2013. While there were concerns that the 2013 legislature would extend the “temporary” increase, it did not. As a result, the service B&O tax rate reverted to 1.5% beginning on July 1, 2013.
-
06.10.2013AOL’s Washington Sales Tax Refund Award AffirmedUpdatesOn June 4, 2013, the Thurston County Superior Court issued a written decision affirming the opinion of the Washington State Board of Tax Appeals (Board) in AOL Inc. v. Washington Department of Revenue, No. 11-076 (Wash. B.T.A. May 9, 2012).
-
04.01.20132012 - 2013 Northwest State Tax Summary: WashingtonArticles
Tax Analysts, State Tax Notes
This article, Part II of a two-part series, highlights some of the major state and local tax questions and developments in Washington state. -
03.25.20132012 - 2013 Northwest State Tax Summary: OregonArticles
Tax Analysts, State Tax Notes
There was a great deal of state tax activity in Oregon and Washington in 2012 with the prospect of more developments to report in 2013. This article, Part I of a two-part series, highlights some of the activity in Oregon. -
12.20.2012No Oregon Income Tax Nexus for Company Owning Intangibles Used in StateUpdatesA federal bankruptcy court judge has held that Washington Mutual, Inc. (WMI), a parent holding company that owned bank subsidiaries conducting business in Oregon, did not have nexus in Oregon by virtue of its ownership of the banks, the ownership of intangibles used by the banks in Oregon for no fee and the receipt of dividends from the banks.
-
05.25.2012AOL Gets Its Day in Court (Finally) and Is Awarded Washington Sales Tax RefundUpdatesOn May 9, 2012, the Washington State Board of Tax Appeals granted summary judgment to AOL, Inc., holding that AOL's purchases of services permitting its customers to connect with AOL's data center and the Internet were not subject to retail sales tax. AOL Inc. v. Wash. Dep't of Revenue, No. 11-076 (Wash. B.T.A. May 9, 2012). The procedural lessons of this case may be as important in Washington tax practice as the substantive case.
-
04.12.20122012 Washington Legislative Session: State TaxesUpdatesIn double overtime, the Washington State Legislature ended the 2012 legislative session Wednesday morning, April 11, closing a roughly half-billion dollar shortfall for the two-year budget cycle.
-
12.14.2010Washington State Adopts Amnesty ProgramUpdates
On December 11, 2010, in a one-day special session, the Washington state legislature passed its first ever amnesty program, which the Governor is expected to sign. Under certain circumstances, taxpayers paying past tax liabilities will have their interest and penalties waived.
-
11.03.2010Amazon.com Obtains Declaratory Judgment Against the State of North Carolina’s Efforts to Obtain Customers' Online Purchase RecordsUpdatesThe U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington granted Amazon.com's request for declaratory judgment that the North Carolina Department of Revenue’s (the Department) information requests for the production of customer purchase records violated the First Amendment and the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), 18 U.S.C. § 2710. Amazon.com LLC v. Lay, No. C10-664-MJP, 2010 WL 4262266 (W.D. Wash. Oct. 25, 2010).
-
09.03.2010Washington State Retail Sales Tax LitigationUpdatesCollecting the right retail sales tax is sometimes a difficult task, but the government should not intentionally make it harder. Unfortunately, because of a recent change in the law, retailers with operations in Washington state faced a confusing and uncertain tax environment, made worse by an unfortunate injunction obtained by the City of Bellingham and Whatcom County.
-
04.15.20102010 Washington State Tax Legislation: What You Need to KnowUpdatesOn April 12, 2010 the Washington State Legislature resolved the budget impasse and adopted a $794 million tax package that the governor is expected to sign. The tax bill, 2ESSB 6143, contains a number of major changes to Washington’s tax system.
Presentations
-
06.27.2023The Wild Wild West: Local Lawmen and TaxesSpeaking EngagementsInstitute for Professionals in Taxation (IPT) Annual Conference / Gaylord, TX
-
05.05.2023Freedom of Information and Transparency in State TaxationSpeaking EngagementsABA Section of Taxation May Tax Meeting / Washington, D.C.
-
03.13.2023Audit Issues, Part II: Apportionment of Services and Intangibles, Section 18Speaking Engagements
Moderator
ABA/IPT Advance Income Tax Seminar / New Orleans, LA -
10.26.2022Should State and Local Tax Burdens Be Considered as One for Purposes of the Commerce Clause?Speaking EngagementsCouncil on State Taxation (COST) 53rd Annual Meeting / Championsgate, FL
-
08.12.2022Let’s Make a DealSpeaking EngagementsWashington State Tax Conference / Pullman, WA
-
06.27.2022West Coast Income Tax UpdateSpeaking EngagementsInstitute for Professionals in Taxation (IPT) Annual Conference / Salt Lake City, UT
-
05.13.2022Should State and Local Tax Burdens be Considered as One for Purposes of the Commerce Clause?Speaking EngagementsABA Section of Taxation May Tax Meeting / Washington, D.C.
-
10.20.2021Gross Receipts TaxesSpeaking EngagementsCouncil on State Taxation (COST) 52nd Annual Meeting / Las Vegas, NV
-
03.19.2021Confidentiality and TransparencySpeaking EngagementsABA/IPT Advanced Income Tax Seminar / Virtual
-
03.16.2021Printing Your Own Money for Tax PurposesSpeaking EngagementsABA/IPT Advances Sales Tax Seminar / Virtual
-
06.25.2018The Far and Not So Far West: An Insightful Update from Local ExpertsSpeaking EngagementsInstitute for Professionals in Taxation (IPT) Annual Conference / Vancouver, BC
-
05.14.2018Nexus UpdateSpeaking EngagementsWashington Society of CPA’s State Tax Conference / Seattle, WA
-
04.20.2018The Kitchen Sink: Unconventional Arguments in Defense of Assertions of Income TaxSpeaking EngagementsABA/IPT Advanced Income Tax Seminar / New Orleans, LA
-
03.01.2018How Gross are Gross Receipts Taxes?Speaking EngagementsCounsel on State Taxation (COST) Sales Tax Conference / New Orleans, LA
-
09.17.2017The Costs of the Privilege of Doing Business in the Great State of Washington - B&O TaxesSpeaking EngagementsInstitute for Professionals in Taxation (IPT) Sales Tax Symposium / San Antonio, TX
-
05.22.2017Breaking Nexus DownSpeaking EngagementsWashington Society of CPA’s State Tax Conference / Seattle, WA
-
03.21.2017Operating with Transparency and Protecting Confidential Information - Where’s the Line?Speaking EngagementsABA/IPT Advanced Income Tax Seminar / New Orleans, LA
-
02.27.2017The Power to Tax: Nexus Issues in a Digital EconomySpeaking EngagementsCounsel on State Taxation (COST) Sales Tax Conference / San Antonio, TX
-
10.19.2016Managing Other Pesky TaxesSpeaking EngagementsCouncil on State Taxation (COST) 47th Annual Meeting / Las Vegas, NV
-
09.19.2016Taxation of Loyalty and Rewards ProgramsSpeaking EngagementsInstitute for Professionals in Taxation (IPT) 2016 Sales Tax Symposium / Indianapolis, IN
-
02.29.2016On the Way to Market: Mapping Out How to Source Income From Intangibles and ServicesSpeaking Engagements2016 ABA/IPT Advance Income Tax Seminar / New Orleans, LA
-
02.24.2016Managing Other Pesky TaxesSpeaking EngagementsCouncil on State Taxation (COST) 2016 Sales Tax Conference / San Diego, CA
-
10.21.2015A Review of the Ohio, Texas and Washington Tax RegimesSpeaking EngagementsCouncil on State Taxation (COST) 46th Annual Meeting / Chicago, IL
-
09.29.2015Sales Taxation of Loyalty ProgramsSpeaking EngagementsInstitute for Professionals in Taxation 2015 Sales Tax Symposium / Indian Wells, CA
-
07.28.2015An Income Tax Primer for Sales Tax ProfessionalsSpeaking EngagementsInstitute for Professionals in Taxation Manufacturing and Related Industries SALT Workshop / Redmond, WA
-
03.17.2015Sales Taxation of Loyalty ProgramsSpeaking Engagements2015 ABA/IPT Advanced Sales Tax Seminar / New Orleans, LA
-
09.22.2014Sales Tax Planning for Recurring or Big Ticket ItemsSpeaking EngagementsInstitute for Professionals in Taxation 2014 Sales Tax Symposium / Washington D.C.
-
05.19.2014B&O Taxation of Affiliated Transactions, Including Employers of Record and Payroll ReimbursementsSpeaking EngagementsWashington State Society of CPAs’ State Tax Conference / Seattle, WA
-
02.24.2014Legislation and Litigation Update in the Western United StatesSpeaking EngagementsCouncil on State Taxation (COST) 2014 Sales Tax Conference and Audit Session / Dallas, TX
-
12.01.2011COST's Pacific Northwest Regional State Tax SeminarSpeaking EngagementsPerkins Coie Offices / Seattle, WA