The NYS Tax Department’s ongoing efforts to combat identify theft and deter fraud have yielded a new requirement for this filing season. Beginning with the 2016 tax year, all e-filed personal income tax returns must provide certain information from the taxpayer’s state-issued driver’s license or non-driver ID.
Late last week the Tax Appeals Tribunal issued a decision (in Matter of Purcell) reversing several prior Administrative Law Judge determinations on a technical issue related to the calculation of the tax reduction credit that was available in the old Empire Zone Program. I actually covered this issue several years ago in a Noonan's Notes article. And though that alone doesn’t make this very exciting, the case is noteworthy given that the tax department had lost as many as 4 cases at the Administrative Law Judge level over the past several years on this issue, and undoubtedly has probably settled several others favorably for taxpayers. The Purcell case goes in the exact opposite direction as all these prior cases, and holds that the tax department’s methodology for computing this “tax reduction credit” was reasonable.
Last week we had the opportunity to attend the first annual New York State Tax Summit, a daylong seminar put on by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance at their offices in Brooklyn. It was a fantastic event, with senior Department officials presenting a wide variety of topics and issues for discussion. There were close to 200 attendees present. And the Agenda was impressive. Here are some of the highlights of the day:
Breaking up is hard to do. Or so the old Neil Sedaka song goes. And a new report from the New York City Comptroller’s Office suggests that when it comes to the love affair between New York City and the country’s highest-income earners, the song rings true.
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance issued a press release on September 26, reminding website designers and software developers of a sales tax exemption and warning them not to “miss out.” According to the press release, no state or local sales tax will be charged on the purchase of computer system hardware when it’s used more than 50% of the time to:
- Design and develop computer software for sale;
- Provide website design and development services for sale; or
- Provide a combination of the two uses described above.
Chicago lawyer Stephen Diamond has made quite a name for himself in recent years for his perceived abuse of the Illinois False Claims Act (“FCA”). Many believe Diamond is misusing the FCA or is using it for self-serving reasons not consistent with the FCA’s intent.
Chicago lawyer Stephen Diamond has made quite a name for himself in recent years for his perceived abuse of the Illinois False Claims Act (“FCA”). Many believe Diamond is misusing the FCA or is using it for self-serving reasons not consistent with the FCA’s intent.
Chicago lawyer Stephen Diamond has made quite a name for himself in recent years for his perceived abuse of the Illinois False Claims Act (“FCA”). Many believe Diamond is misusing the FCA or is using it for self-serving reasons not consistent with the FCA’s intent.
Chicago lawyer Stephen Diamond has made quite a name for himself in recent years for his perceived abuse of the Illinois False Claims Act (“FCA”). Many believe Diamond is misusing the FCA or is using it for self-serving reasons not consistent with the FCA’s intent.
If you are a regular reader of Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) Determinations and Orders issued at New York’s Division of Tax Appeals (“DTA”), you have probably observed the frequency with which ALJ’s dismiss petitions filed by taxpayers based on timeliness issues. For the uninitiated, the DTA’s rules of practice and procedure, which are part New York State’s regulations governing taxation and finance, generally require that taxpayers file a petition appealing an audit determination or conciliation order within 90 days of its issuance. Frequently, taxpayers fail to properly file their petition within this 90-day window. And, absent very unusual circumstances, ALJs who review this issue dismiss those petitions based on these procedural failures. Indeed, dozens of taxpayers have their petitions dismissed by ALJs each year for this very reason.