The Ohio Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) ruled in favor of Great Lakes Bar Control, Inc. (“Great Lakes”) that maintaining draft beer dispensing services are not subject to Ohio sales tax. Great Lakes Bar Control, Inc. v. Testa, BTA Case No. 2016-34 (Apr. 14, 2017). Great Lakes was represented by Buckingham attorneys Steve Dimengo, Matt... Read More
Ohio Sales and Use Tax
As we previously posted, the Ohio Department of Taxation has taken an extremely expansive view of taxable electronic information services (EIS). Per the Department, EIS essentially includes any services delivered via telecommunications equipment, including the Internet. With technological advances, the number of services delivered electronically has grown exponentially, which clearly could not have been anticipated... Read More
The Department of Taxation recently updated its direct pay authority program to help ensure compliance amongst permit holders. Information Release ST 2003-01 (Updated March 2016). As part of the program, direct pay permit agreements will be reviewed and updated periodically, typically at least every four years. Direct pay permit holders are regularly audited and generally... Read More
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Quill v. North Dakota more than 24 years ago, states have been focused on addressing the ability to force a vendor to collect tax in their state in the absence of a physical presence as required by Quill. The fundamental basis for the decision is that in the... Read More
As co-chairs of the Ohio State Bar Association Sales / Use Tax Subcommittee, here is a link to the report Steve and Rich presented at the January 7, 2016 Taxation Committee meeting. Of particular interest is the recent Ohio Supreme Court case that held officers can contest procedurally defective corporate assessments. If you have any question regarding the subcommittee report or any sales / use... Read More
Plaintiffs filed a class action complaint last May against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio alleging that Wal-mart “systematically shortchanges customers who return products to a store located in an area with a lower sales tax than the store from which the product was originally purchased by... Read More
The Ohio Supreme Court delivered a significant blow to individuals claiming nonresident status for Ohio personal income tax under the bright-line residency statute. Cunningham v. Testa, 2015-Ohio-2744. The Ohio statute provides that an individual is irrebuttably presumed to be a nonresident if the individual satisfies three requirements: (1) maintains an abode outside Ohio for the... Read More
Ohio’s biennium budget bill for FY 2016-2017 provides for expanded sales/use tax nexus and further income tax reductions. (Am. Sub. H.B. 64). Gov. Kasich made extensive use of his line-item veto ahead of the signing, striking 44 provisions from the bill. Several vetoes removed targeted benefits the legislature included for large businesses or industries, such... Read More
UPDATE (7/9/15): The Ohio Supreme Court denied the City of Cleveland’s motion for reconsideration. Historically, Cleveland has taxed compensation of visiting professional athletes under the “games-played” method based upon the ratio of games played in Cleveland to all games played that year. Unlike the “duty-days” method, used by most states and municipalities, the “games-played” method... Read More
In M&A Food Store, Inc. v. Testa, Dkt. No. 2013-4504 (01/27/2015), the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals affirmed the Tax Commissioner’s sales tax assessment against a retail convenience store. The taxpayer attempted to support its contention that the assessment was overstated by offering its 2010 corporate income tax return and an email from a Department... Read More