Most states are well off to the races with their 2017 legislative sessions and several states have gift card legislation pending that would impact unclaimed property holders....more
On January 26, 2017, the Delaware House approved comprehensive unclaimed property rewrite legislation (SB 13) that was passed by the Senate (with committee amendments) last week. Our summary of many of the key provisions of...more
The Delaware General Assembly has introduced legislation that would significantly rewrite the Delaware unclaimed property statute by repealing the three current subchapters and replacing them with a single unclaimed property...more
The fourth iteration of a uniform unclaimed property act—entitled the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (RUUPA or Act)—has been finalized by the Uniform Law Commission for state enactment. The new Prefatory Note,...more
On November 17, 2016, the Ohio Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated slip opinions in the three companion cases challenging Ohio’s Commercial Activity Tax (CAT) economic nexus standard. See Crutchfield Corp. v. Testa,...more
Another federal judge slams Delaware’s unclaimed property audit methodology but rejects the holder’s reliance on the priority rules as a defense to the audit demands. See Marathon Petroleum Corp. et al. v. Cook et al., No....more
9/29/2016
/ Audits ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure To State A Claim ,
Fourth Amendment ,
Information Requests ,
Out-of-State Companies ,
Preemption ,
Priority Rules ,
Ripeness ,
Standing ,
State and Local Government ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Unclaimed Property
On August 26, 2016, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Goodlatte from Virginia, released the long-anticipated discussion draft of the Online Sales Simplification Act of 2016. Highlights of the bill include...more
The court case challenging Delaware’s unclaimed property audit methodologies has settled following an opinion brutalizing Delaware’s position. This settlement leaves the US District Court for the District of Delaware...more
On August 4, 2016, representatives of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts held a limited-invite roundtable to discuss the proposed amendments to 34 Tex. Admin. Code 3.584, relating to the reduced rate available under the...more
On June 28, 2016, the much-anticipated memorandum opinion of the US District Court for the District of Delaware in Temple-Inland, Inc. v. Cook et al., No. 14-654-GMS was released on the parties’ cross-motions for summary...more
7/1/2016
/ Amended Complaints ,
Audits ,
Commerce Clause ,
Cross Motions ,
Due Process ,
Escheat ,
Ex Post Facto Clause ,
Extrapolation ,
Full Faith and Credit Clause ,
Summary Judgment ,
Takings Clause ,
Unclaimed Property
Background -
As detailed in our blog last month, MoneyGram Payment Systems, Inc. (MoneyGram) is stuck in between a rock and a hard place as states continue to duel with Delaware over the proper classification of (and...more
On May 20, 2016, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts published proposed amendments to 34 Tex. Admin. Code 3.584 – relating to the reduced rate available under the Texas Franchise Tax for retailers and wholesalers – in...more
Litigation over unclaimed property rules and obligations continues to accelerate. The first quarter of 2016 brought developments in several cases, including a much-watched contest over merchandise credits and a new battle...more
Oral argument before the Ohio Supreme Court took place on May 3 in the three cases challenging Ohio’s Commercial Activity Tax (CAT) nexus standard. Crutchfield, Inc. v. Testa, Case No. 2015-0386; Mason Cos. Inc. v. Testa,...more
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts recently proposed amendments to 34 Tex. Admin. Code 3.584 relating to the reduced rate available under the Texas Franchise Tax for retailers and wholesalers. These proposed revisions,...more
Executive Summary -
..Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) transfer pricing program moving forward in some fashion;
..Priority includes information sharing among participating states (and possibly their third party...more
After a quarter of a century, the school book nexus cases continue to proliferate, delight and mystify. The latest installment in the saga is from Alabama. Scholastic Book Clubs, Inc. 2931 v. State Of Alabama Department Of...more
Remote sellers making sales into Alabama have until January 1, 2016, to begin collecting sales tax regardless of their physical presence in the state or consider whether there is any impact on financial statement issues as a...more
On December 3, 2015, the D.C. Council Committee of the Whole held an advocates-only hearing on the Universal Paid Leave Act of 2015 (Act), which was introduced on October 6, 2015 by a majority of councilmembers. As...more
Two years ago, a former employee of Card Fact, LLC (subsequently purchased by Card Compliant), a company providing gift card issuance and management services to retailers, filed a false claims action in Delaware alleging that...more
After being in effect for only a week, the Council of the District of Columbia (Council) unanimously enacted legislation on November 3, 2015 that will repeal the list of tax haven jurisdictions specifically enumerated in the...more
In the latest development in the Florida litigation regarding the taxation of delivery charges, Judge Jack Tuter of the 17th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida determined that the complaint against Pizza Hut was sufficient to...more
Earlier this month, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held in Florida Bankers Ass’n v. U.S. Dep’t of the Treasury, No. 14-5036 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 14, 2015) that the Anti-Injunction Act (AIA, codified at 26...more
9/3/2015
/ Anti-Injunction Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Direct Mkting Association v Brohl ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
NFIB v. Sebelius ,
Notice Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
Tax Injunction Act ,
Tax Penalties ,
U.S. Treasury
As soon as we start to think that Delaware’s unclaimed property practices and administration couldn’t possibly get any more egregious, another lawsuit like JLI Invest S.A. et al. v. Cook et al., Case No. 11274 surfaces. The...more
8/26/2015
/ Conversion ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Due Process ,
Escheat ,
Foreign Commerce ,
Good Faith ,
Gross Negligence ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Merck ,
Property Owners ,
Shareholders ,
Tender Offers ,
Unclaimed Property
On Tuesday, July 14, 2015, at their Annual Meeting the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) completed their first reading of the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (RUUPA or the Act). While over half of the sections comprising...more