Sutherland SALT Shaker: November 2015 Digest

By Eversheds Sutherland SALT on November 30, 2015

Read our November 2015 posts on stateandlocaltax.com or read each article by clicking on the title. For the latest coverage and commentary on state and local tax developments delivered directly to your phone, download the latest version of the Sutherland SALT Shaker mobile app.

Second Circuit Sides with Taxpayers in Privilege Dispute Over Accounting Firm Memoranda
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the attorney-client privilege and work-product doctrine protected legal memoranda prepared by an accounting firm that were disclosed to third parties.
SALT Pets of the Month: Bogey and Cooper
This month’s Pet of the Month column begins as a tribute to two cherished Labrador Retrievers belonging to Angie Moore, Tax Director at Liberty Media.
Hoosier Daddy? Background Checks Not Subject to Indiana Sales Tax
The Indiana Department of Revenue (Department) concluded that a company’s employment screening and background checking services are not subject to sales tax.
Are Your Software Keys Delivered the Old Fashioned Way? Iowa DOR Declares Tangible Digital Software Keys Exempt from Sales Tax
The Iowa Department of Revenue issued a policy letter declaring that the delivery of a digital software key on a tangible card is exempt from sales tax, as long as the software itself is delivered digitally and there is not a separate charge for the key.
Customer Is Not Always Right in the Buckeye State: Ohio Board of Tax Appeals Holds Transcription Service Is not a Personal or Professional Service Exempt from Use Tax
The Ohio Board of Tax Appeals held that medical transcription services are taxable automatic data processing services, rather than tax-exempt personal or professional services, because of the minimal level of personal skill involved in transcription services.
Texas and New York Whistle Different Tunes on Vanguard Whistleblower
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and the New York Courts have treated a former in-house attorney turned whistleblower very differently—Texas made a substantial payment to the individual, and New York kicked him to the proverbial curb.
Fresh Tracks: Vermont Supreme Court’s First Unitary Ruling Separates Insurer from Ski Resort
In its first decision on combined unitary reporting since Vermont adopted combined reporting in 2006, the Vermont Supreme Court held that the AIG insurance group was not unitary with its wholly owned ski resort subsidiary, Stowe Mountain Resort.