The Texas Third Court of Appeals issued its opinion yesterday in Graphic Packaging Corp. v. Hegar, No. 03-14-00197-CV. It ruled that taxpayers may not choose to use the Multistate Tax Compact’s three-factor apportionment method to apportion their taxable margin under the Texas franchise tax. In doing so, the Third Court of Appeals held that the […]
While the 2015 Texas Legislature gave taxpayers a significant franchise tax (margin tax) rate cut and repealed some smaller taxes (some of which had not been collected in years), it otherwise left much of the Texas tax code otherwise unchanged. In this Texas legislative recap, we’ll tell you about the changes the Texas Legislature made […]
The United States Supreme Court recently decided Direct Marketing Association v. Brohl, a state tax case. In it, the Supreme Court ruled that a challenge in federal court to Colorado’s so-called “Amazon law” could go forward, contrary to Colorado’s argument that the Tax Injunction Act barred the suit. In perhaps a more interesting development for […]
A Travis County District Court judge ruled Thursday that Texas’s school finance system violates the Texas Constitution. The judgment and associated findings of fact and conclusions of law are available here. Review of the decision will go directly to the Texas Supreme Court. The judge wrote that his ruling would not be implemented until July […]
The Third Court of Appeals recently held in Combs v. Texas Small Tobacco Coalition that a new tax on small tobacco manufacturers violates the Equal and Uniform Taxation Clause of the Texas Constitution. In doing so, the Third Court upheld a trial court decision from late last year invalidating the tax. The opinion highlights the […]
As we reported earlier, the Third Court of Appeals ruled in Southwest Royalties, Inc. v. Combs that oil and gas above-ground and downhole production equipment doesn’t qualify for the Texas sales tax manufacturing exemption. This case has drawn a fair amount of attention due to the large potential financial impact on the State of Texas […]
Today, the Texas Supreme Court denied the Texas Comptroller’s Petition for Review in the Richmont Aviation case. As a result, the Third Court of Appeals’ decision in the taxpayer’s favor becomes final, but the Texas Supreme Court has taken no position on the Third Court of Appeals’ holding in Richmont Aviation, leaving some uncertainty in […]
The Texas Third Court of Appeals just issued its opinion in Southwest Royalties, Inc. v. Combs, No. 03-12-00511-CV. The opinion affirms a district court opinion denying oil and gas operators the Texas sales tax manufacturing exemption on their purchases of certain above-ground and downhole production equipment. The opinion also provides some useful discussion of the circumstances […]
A Travis County District Court judge ruled on July 22, 2014 in Autohaus LP, LLP v. Combs that an auto dealer could include labor costs to install new and replacement auto parts in its cost of goods sold for Texas franchise tax purposes. In doing so, the judge held that the Comptroller rule defining the […]
In its recent decision in IBM Corp. v. Department of Treasury, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that taxpayers may apportion their tax base for the Michigan Business Tax using the three-factor apportionment method provided by the Multistate Tax Compact instead of the single-factor apportionment method the Michigan Business Tax statute provided. The decision means that […]
