By Jessica Allen and Jonathan Feldman
The New York City Tax Appeals Tribunal administrative law judge (ALJ) determined that a taxpayer’s receipts for consulting services should be allocated based on where the services were rendered, not where the solicitation and payment for the services occurred. The taxpayer’s non-commissioned salespeople entered into lump-sum subscription agreements with clients providing access to the taxpayer’s network of independent industry expert consultants. Its research consultants paired clients with the appropriate expert consultants. The Department of Finance excluded the expert consultants from the allocation analysis as independent contractors and allocated receipts based on the location of the taxpayer’s salespeople. However, the ALJ found that the receipts for services should be allocated based on the location of the research managers and consultants, but not the salespeople. Although the salespeople collected the receipts, their efforts did not represent the services for which the client paid the taxpayer. In the Matter of the Petitions of Gerson Lehrman Group, Inc., New York City Tax Appeals Tribunal, Administrative Law Judge Division, TAT(H)08-79(GC), TAT(H)12-38(GC), and TAT(H)12-39(GC), Oct. 4, 2016.