The Third Court of Appeals’ recent opinion in Titan Transportation v. Combs is another big win for taxpayers under the revised Texas franchise tax (also known as the Texas margin tax). In opinion, the Third Court of Appeals rejected the Texas Comptroller’s narrow, restrictive interpretation of the revenue exclusion for certain payments to those who […]
The Third Court of Appeals’ opinion in Cirrus Exploration Company v. Combs expands the number of businesses who may purchase aircraft without paying Texas sales and use tax. In doing so, the Third Court of Appeals once again rejected a long-standing Texas Comptroller policy that imposed additional requirements not found in the Texas Tax Code […]
The Third Court of Appeals issued its opinion today in Combs v. Newpark Resources, Inc., its first case under the revised Texas franchise tax law (also known as the Texas margin tax). The opinion rejects the Texas Comptroller’s narrow interpretation of the Texas franchise tax’s cost of goods sold deduction in favor of the taxpayer’s […]
A Travis County District Court judge recently found that a new tax on small tobacco manufacturers violates the Equal and Uniform Taxation Clause of the Texas Constitution in Texas Small Tobacco Coalition v. Combs, Cause No. D-1-GN-13-002414. The Texas Comptroller has appealed the judge’s decision. The Tax on Small Tobacco Manufacturers The Texas Legislature passed […]
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in U.S. v. Windsor raises many questions for the world of tax. The decision invalidated the portion of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that defines “marriage” only as a union between a man and a woman for federal purposes. However, the decision did not invalidate the portion of […]
Yesterday, the Texas franchise tax and the Texas sales and use tax became a bit more complicated. Governor Rick Perry just signed into law all significant Texas franchise tax and Texas sales tax bills the Legislature passed in 2013. Each bill adds a few more twists to an already-tangled Texas tax code. Amanda summarized the […]
Today, the Texas Supreme Court continued its trend of giving little deference to the Texas Comptroller in Combs v. Health Care Services Corporation. There, the Texas Supreme Court held that Health Care Services Corporation, a company that administers federal health insurance programs, was entitled to the sale-for-resale exemption from Texas sales and use taxes on […]
This post takes a quick look at the decisions regarding Texas sales and use tax and Texas franchise tax that the Texas Supreme Court and Texas Courts of Appeals have handed down in the past year. While this blog has already discussed some of these, now is a good time to revisit them in light […]
The Texas Comptroller just adopted a major revision to the Texas franchise tax cost of goods sold rule. The final rule the Texas Comptroller adopted is basically the same as the proposed cost of goods sold rule Michael described in his earlier post. I’ll describe the ways the Texas Comptroller’s final cost of goods sold […]
The 83rd Regular Legislative session is at an end, and the Legislature passed many changes to the Texas franchise tax in the session’s final hours. The bill that included most of these changes was HB 500. I previously covered the House version of this bill, as well as the very different Senate version. The Legislature worked out […]
