Tuesday, January 9, 2018

TOP NEWS

Supreme Court Shuts Off Fla. Satellite-Cable Tax Battle

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a bid from Dish Network LLC to overturn a state court decision, holding that the sales tax Florida consumers pay on satellite subscriptions, nearly double the rate for cable, is not discriminatory. Read more »

Justices Reset Conference On Remote Sellers Tax Case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday relisted a case that could determine whether states may compel retailers that do not have a physical presence within their borders to collect and remit use tax. Read more »

NJ Assembly, Senate Send $5B Amazon Tax Break Bill To Gov.

The New Jersey Legislature on Monday passed a bipartisan measure to provide up to $5 billion in tax credits to lure Amazon to build its second U.S. headquarters in the Garden State, with supporters cheering the potential job growth and critics blasting the subsidies to the online retail giant. Read more »

Ministers’ Poverty Vow Can't Wipe Out Tax Liabilities

Two ordained ministers in Arizona cannot use their vow of poverty as a shield against the federal income tax after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday shot down their appeal of a Ninth Circuit decision finding that their income could not be characterized as donations. Read more »

FEDERAL

Top Court Seeks SG's Advice In W.Va. Retiree Tax Case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday asked for the U.S. solicitor general’s take on whether it should hear a challenge to West Virginia’s tax laws by federal law enforcement retirees who claim they are treated differently from state law enforcement retirees. Read more »

Justices Won’t Hear Bid To Recoup $600K In Attorneys' Fees

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a Fourth Circuit decision rejecting a taxpayer’s bid to recover nearly $600,000 in attorneys' fees even though he prevailed on the merits of the underlying case. Read more »

Marathon Says IRS Mistook $1B Stock Buy For Dividends

Oil giant Marathon is challenging IRS adjustments to its taxable income in U.S. Tax Court, claiming they resulted from the agency’s error in characterizing $1 billion of stock purchases from 2009 and 2010 as distributions. Read more »

Bogus Financial Consultant To Cop To $9.3M Fraud

A sham North Carolina financial consultant accused of running a Ponzi scheme that cost investors, including some professional athletes, more than $9.3 million has agreed to plead guilty to a securities fraud and tax evasion scheme, according to documents filed on Friday. Read more »

STATE & LOCAL

Travelocity Found Liable For Sales Tax, Avoids Penalties

The Maryland Tax Court has ruled in favor of the state comptroller by finding online travel site Travelocity responsible for collecting and remitting sales and use tax for hotel and car rentals from 2007 to 2011 but abated penalties and interests beyond that time, finding the company was entitled to credits for taxes already paid by hotels and rental car companies. Read more »

EXPERT ANALYSIS

What Tax Reform Means For The Energy Sector: Part 1

The new federal tax legislation is far-reaching, and makes significant changes to how the United States taxes the energy sector. The law's treatment of energy tax credits, bonus depreciation, interest deductibility and other features of the tax code make it imperative for energy companies to review their tax strategies immediately, say attorneys with Eversheds Sutherland LLP. Read more »

5 Legal Technology Predictions For 2018

While each new year is expected to bring fresh challenges to the legal industry, 2018 will be particularly disruptive to the status quo. Both law firms and organizations that cater to the legal community should prepare for developments like increasing pressure from international clients and data security risks caused by multigenerational gaps, says Jeff Ton of Bluelock LLC. Read more »

LEGAL INDUSTRY

Analysis

The Rise Of Pricing Professionals In BigLaw

The number of pricing professionals at BigLaw firms has snowballed over the past decade as clients seek more alternative fee arrangements and demand increasing complexity and specificity from law firms with regard to their legal bills. Read more »

Ex-Judge, AG Head Stroock's New Harassment Probe Team

Former U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin and former New York Attorney General Robert Abrams will head a new Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP team specializing in external sexual harassment investigations for corporate clients wary of facing their own #MeToo moments, the firm announced on Monday. Read more »

Cook County Must Provide Instant Access To E-Filed Suits

An Illinois federal judge on Monday ordered Chicago’s Cook County Circuit Court to provide access to newly e-filed civil complaints, granting the Courthouse News Service's bid for a preliminary injunction in its suit over delays in access to electronically filed documents. Read more »

Senate Kicks Off More Votes For Trump Judge Picks

The Senate voted Monday to advance one of President Donald Trump's picks for a vacant district court seat in Tennessee, the first of a weeklong set of votes to confirm new federal judges for the state as well as Texas and Georgia. Read more »

Milberg Joins Sanders Phillips Grossman To Form New Firm

Leading class action law firm Milberg LLP said Monday it has entered a new partnership with Sanders Phillips Grossman LLC, a plaintiffs firm focusing on mass tort and personal injury cases, to form Milberg Tadler Phillips Grossman LLP. Read more »

Analysis

15 Minutes With GE Ventures' General Counsel

GE Ventures general counsel Jonas Svedlund recently spoke to Law360 about his outside counsel pet peeves, the one skill he wishes they taught in law school and the risks that come with investing in new business models and technology. Read more »

Practitioner's Guide To Statistical Sampling: Part 1

In the first of four articles on statistical sampling in practice, Brian Kriegler of Econ One Research examines four core principles of random sampling and offers recommendations for justifying statistical inference calculations. Read more »

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LAW FIRMS

COMPANIES

DISH Network Corporation

EchoStar Corporation

Econ One Research Inc.

Equifax Inc.

Expedia Inc.

Frito-Lay Inc.

Marathon Oil Corporation

Marathon Petroleum Corp.

New York Times Co.

Newegg Inc.

Overstock.com Inc.

Retail Litigation Center Inc.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.

Travelocity.com LP

Wayfair LLC

Yahoo! Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

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