There are five cases to summarize this week. Most address issues you’ve seen before. But, Matter of Vance touches on New York’s temporary de-coupling from the CARES Act and other post-March 1, 2020, Internal Revenue Code Amendments. I expect we’re going to see many cases in the future that discuss de-coupling issues since they are numerous, complex, and may produce anomalous results.
Next week we have a taxpayer victory on a sales tax issue to report. We know about it now because it was one of our cases. But, unfortunately, TiNY’s 13 or so loyal readers will need to wait until the next edition of TiNY.
Here are the sales tax cases from the TiNY Blog for the week of June 6, 2024.
We’ve enjoyed the steady flow of cases from the DTA of late. One of the reasons we write TiNY is that we are interested in how the judges and the Commissioners on the Tribunal view the cases. We have the most fun when we posit alternative views to get our readers to think critically about the cases and not simply accept them because the judges say this is how the law is supposed to work. It is less fun for us when we agree with the Judges since we don’t think we are bringing value to our twelve or so loyal readers to just report the news without providing insightful commentary. “We agree” is not insightful.
The decision and determination this week are not fun (for us, anyway). The order has a little entertainment value.
Your TiNY editor-in-chief took some time away over the long weekend and that led to the late posting of this week’s TiNY Report. The delay gave us some time to reflect on Hodgson Russ’s slick replacement website. When we commented favorably on the new site to our marketing personnel, we were told this interesting tidbit: When the old site was converted to the new site, spell check was automatically run. And 99% of the flagged words were found in the TiNY blog. Further investigation disclosed that sometimes the authors of TiNY make up words (The shock! The horror!). And I was reminded (not for the first time) that Hodgson Russ blogs are informational and need to accurately recount legal developments without the use of humor, sarcasm, or hyperbole. Hodgson Russ blogs are not to entertain, they are to inform. They are not a linguistic playground on which the authors might vent pent-up frustrations brought about by years of straight-jacketed legal writing. And they should never besmirch the language of Shakespeare by creating words.
Right. If you feel that way, perhaps you should read TiNY’s disclaimer.
This week we’re covering four determinations for your consideration. Two of them—Maragh and Somers—are worth a listen-to. The other two are songs that you liked a little when they first came out but now detest because they have been overplayed on your favorite radio station.
Here are the sales tax cases from the TiNY Blog for the week of May 23, 2024.
Those of us on the West Coast of New York are enjoying summerlike conditions this week. We rarely get temperatures in the 80s consistently in May because the prevailing southwesterly winds blow across 250 miles of 50-degree Lake Erie water before reaching our editorial offices. Usually that results in a chill. But this week we have been treated to several days of unseasonable warmth as we roll into the holiday weekend. It would be perfect weather to stand outside of Key Bank Center and watch the Sabres play in the Eastern Conference Finals on a portable Jumbotron. But they would need to make the playoffs first. Maybe next year?
And as I wrote the revised version of the second-to-last sentence in the above paragraph, I paused to consider whether it was most appropriate to use the plural or singular verb form when referring to the Sabres hockey team. The same goes for the Bills, Giants, Jets, etc. When one uses a team name that ends in “s” to refer to the team (and not the individuals making up the team), isn’t the team name a singular proper noun? Shouldn’t it be “The Sabres was victorious in its last game” and not “The Sabres were victorious in their last game?” I notice that every journalist I read treats team names ending in “s” as plural. In fact, it seems like team names are always treated as plural (e.g., “The Minnesota Wild are on a losing streak.”). But that doesn’t make sense to me. “Team” is a single noun, right?
And this grammar conundrum, constant readers, is an indication of the lengths one will go to avoid entering one’s time charges and editing TiNY.
To our three Canadian subscribers: The TiNY editorial staff hopes you enjoyed your Victoria Day long weekend and expressed appropriate homage to the long-reigning (63-plus years, second only to Queen Elizabeth!) and now long-departed Queen. As per Ray Davies: “Canada to India, Australia to Cornwall, Singapore to Hong Kong, From the West to the East, From the rich to the poor, Victoria loved them all.”
There are three determinations to report on this week.
Here are the sales tax cases from the TiNY Blog for the week of May 14, 2024.
Wow, wow, WOW! Some meaty, substantive tax law issues are addressed in this week’s DTA output of two Tribunal decisions, two ALJ determinations, and one ALJ order. PALs, and successors, and SaaS, oh my. And ALJ Law establishes (chronological) order in his court. Enjoy.
The Rangers and the Knicks are in the second round of their respective playoffs. That doesn’t seem to happen very often. The internet says the last year this occurred was 2013. But we’ve had a total eclipse of the sun this year, so maybe both teams being in round two simultaneously is another sign of the forthcoming apocalypse.
In a similar vein, the firm has an office in Toronto, and I visit that city frequently and very much enjoy my time there. I was thus somewhat verklempt when the Bruins knocked the Maple Leafs out of the playoffs last week. I did watch some of that series, and it was a good one, going the distance. There’s not a lot on television that is more compelling to me than a game seven in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
We’re reporting on a decision, two ALJ determinations and a bonus New York City ALJ determination this week.
Before getting into the cases, let us acknowledge that the better-late-than-never politicos in Albany have passed the 2024-25 New York State Program Budget and it has already been signed by the Governor. The Governor stuck to her “no increased tax rates on the wealthy” position even in the face of strong head winds produced by the leadership in the Assembly and Senate. Good for her. Look: She understands that New York can impose higher taxes on the wealthy, but that New York can’t compel the wealthy to pay those taxes when they may be avoided by moving to Florida, Tennessee, or Texas. And she understands it is relatively easy for the wealthy to move to states where they can pay less. So much less than a few years’ worth of tax savings for a moderately high-income person is enough to buy a really nice house in south Florida. Thank goodness there are still some in Albany who consider taxation a pragmatic endeavor.