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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
A recent Travis County District Court decision steps back the Texas Comptroller’s efforts to make it more difficult for taxpayers to file Texas sales and use tax refund claims. The case is Ryan, LLC v. Combs, Docket No. D-1-GN-12-002388. Judge Amy Clark Meachum issued a final order in the case on May 10, 2013 that […]
Over the last few weeks, Texas courts haven’t been giving much deference to the Texas Comptroller—at least, not to her administrative rules. Two courts have determined that certain Comptroller rules are unnecessary at best, and invalid at worse. One of those courts was the Texas Supreme Court. The Roark Case and the Texas Sales Tax […]
Over the next couple of weeks, I plan on writing about several Texas tax cases currently pending before the Texas appellate courts. Several cases involve the Texas franchise tax. Many more involve the Texas sales tax. Today we’ll discuss a Texas franchise tax case recently argued in Travis County District Court: Rent-a-Center, Inc. v. Combs, […]
Last month I posted an entry about a constitutional challenge to the “Sexually Oriented Business Fee,” or SOB Tax. This is the $5 per-customer charge imposed on Texas adult entertainment establishments that allow alcohol to be consumed on their premises. See my June 29 post on the Sexually Oriented Business Fee for additional background. In that entry, I […]
