Review (2)

Southern Reporter Own state reporters:

Some states have such a lot of litigation are and are so important that they actually have their own state orders.

•Some states do not impose

a sales tax

Order solicitation which is more than "trivial" is considered

above de minimis

Recently, states do not adopt

all of the Federal tax changes

Some states do not impose

an income tax

Codified

arranged and recorded systematically

The location of new offices or plants is

based on state & local tax issues

State & local tax planning has become a

larger sector of business for accounting and law firms

•State law can determine the

legal character of property

Primary sources, all of the other major tax services like CCH and checkpoint

meld with when doing the research itself.

Both Federal & state constitutions

must be followed

•Contact through U.S. mail or common carrier does not create

nexus

•Using retail outlets and contract workers creates

nexus

Most of the lower court they will

not publish various decisions because it can become expensive

Texas Administrative Code Interpretation

of the Texas Statutes by the state agencies responsible for enforcing them

•Sometime federal law will

override state law

Each state has its

own tax code and administrative structure

A lot more compliance

requirements by various states

The states these days are definitely

revenue hungry.

West's National Reporter System divided the United States into

seven different regions, in each region, they have a certain number of states that they will report the state cases from.

•Tax researchers must look for both

similarities and differences from the Federal system

One thing the states have tried to do is to provide some

uniformity in multi state taxation, states basically want to tax all businesses that are doing business within their state.

Way West Publishing has organized these by their

various state case.

States having banded together where they

voluntarily agree to again certain uniformity and how they're going to tax businesses doing business within their state.

•State law generally determines the rights

which a party has in property

Multistate Tax Commission (MTC)

•45 states are members •Encourages uniformity in multistate taxation Joint Audit Program

RIA'S Checkpoint State & Local Tax

•A comprehensive analyst of all 50 states & the District of Columbia •All states' taxes and documents can be searched simultaneously

Citation Search

•A single state must be selected •Citations vary between states •Template furnished after selecting state and type of document

Westlaw State Services •"KeyCite" option

•Another method for entering state law citations •Smaller number of publications •Not linked to templates

West's National Reporter System for State Cases

•Atlantic Reporter •North Eastern Reporter •North Western Reporter •Pacific Reporter •South Eastern Reporter •South Western Reporter - Pay attention to Texas •Southern Reporter •New York Supplement •California Reporter

Westlaw State Services •"Find" option

•Can enter a citation for a state statute or reg. •Large number of publications •Citation format must be recognized by Westlaw •Citation template available

•Federal commerce clause

•Congress has power to regulate interstate commerce •"Nexus" must be established for a state to tax business

Westlaw State Services

•Contains an extensive library of state tax databases •Includes the BNA Tax Management Portfolios •Tracks current, pending, & proposed state tax bills •Newsletters: •BNA Daily Tax Report •RIA State and Local Taxes Weekly

CCH Network State Service •Practice Aids

•Contains the latest in state tax legislation •Includes several Ernst & Young publications

State Tax Statutes

•Different Numbering •Not related to the IRC •Different Structure •Different Types of Tax •Can be Hard to Find •Some Conformity with the IRC may exist

Westlaw State Services: Table of Contents

•Drill down method can be used •The KeySearch system is available

•1886-1962: Texas Reports (Official reporters of the Supreme Court of Texas)

•Ferguson v. Ferguson, 161 Tex. 184, 338 S.W.2d 945 (1960).

Judicial Interpretations

•Found with other state cases -They rely upon other case reporters, then link into provide you with the various cases (West Publishing Company) •Citation system similar •May conform to Federal court decisions

CCH Network State Service

•Includes a complete state tax service State Tax Reporter: •Detailed explanations •Primary source materials •Practical compliance guidance Keyword search is available: •Select the state(s) of interest •Thesaurus feature may be turned off if not wanted Content Search: •Organized by type of tax •Can still perform a keyword search

CCH Network State Service •Multistate Publications

•Income tax, property tax, & sales tax guides

•States model the Federal Government

•Legislative, executive, & judicial branches - Starting point (Federal Income Tax Return); Since most individuals will be required to file a federal income tax returns, most states start with whatever some number on the federal return either adjusted gross income or taxable income.

CCH Network State Service •Topical Indexes

•Lists of indexes is by state, then topic •Can use either keyword search or drill down

Nexus

•More than a de minimis existence in a state •Some physical presence required: An economic presence may be sufficient

Citations of State Cases are similar to Federal Cases - Paralle citation •Chalfin v. Specter, 426 Pa. 464, 233 A.2d 562 (1967)

)•Name: Chalfin v. Specter •426 Pa. 464 - Volume, Pennsylvania reports - Case reporters for Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Page (Official Reporter) •233 A.2d 562 - Volume 233, Atlantic reporter's 2nd Series, Page 562 (Unofficial Reporter) •1967 - Years

Joint Audit Program: a comprehensive audit

- A group of auditors here located in Texas, that are contracted out by states to audit various companies. Beneficial for everyone

•Tax systems vary greatly

Among the states - State is free to decide what it is that they will accept and not exempt from federal system.

•Vernon's has both

Codified and Uncodified Statutes

Texas Administrative Code Complication

Complication of all state agency rules on Texas 16 Title aEach title represents a subject and related agency assigned to that subject

The fifth Court of Appeals (of Texas) is in

Dallas. It is not the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Federal Court of Appeals.

•States piggyback the

Federal tax system to varying degrees

Tools for State Tax Research

Generally same as Federal tax research: •Statute •Administrative Interpretations •Judicial Interpretations Secondary Sources: •Checkpoint

•Texas; Community property:

Half (or at least) of the income you earn is going to your significant other, as well as other property rights you will have

Research Process

In Print: •Topical Index •Cross-reference table to the IRC •Code, regulations, cases, explanations Electronically: •Same as above •Perform word search

Historical Notes

Meaning these are all the statutes that have gone into current system of laws dealing with sales

A green book

Put out by the UT in Austin law school that tells you how to cite to everything Texas

West Publishing Company -

Reporting for all the states, out all of the state statutes, all of the various rulings and most importantly all the various cases for the states.

State Cases Official reporters

State-associated publication of the state's highest court's or appellate courts' opinions

States Cases

States basically are free if they choose to publish their own state court decision

Notes of decisions

Summaries of opinions that have interpreted a statute, usually printed beneath the text of the statute in annotated statutory codes.

Westlaw State Services: •Directory Options

Tax Directory: •Lists some state tax databases •Access to complete list of state materials •Keyword search available after selecting a state U.S. State Materials: •Select "Other U.S. States" to list all states •Choose a state to view legal topics list

Vernon's Annotated Revised Civil Statutes If Not Codified

Tex. Rev. Civ. Ann. Art. 4512E, Sec. 2(a) (Vernon 1997) Tex. Rev. Civ. Ann. Art. -- Texas Revised Civil Statues: Free range code sections, put

Vernon's Annotated Revised Civil Statutes If Codified

Tex. Tax Code Ann. Section 1551.001 (Vernon 1997) Tex. Tax Code Ann. -- Texas tax Code Annotated Section 1551.001 -- Section (Vernon 1997) -- Vernon stature book, the actual publication of the Year of the book itself

•Vernon's Texas Codes Annotated •Vernon, Law book publishers -

Went on various state to published that state law •Then roughly in the 60s, Vernon was bought out by West Publishing. •Black statutes of Texas

State Cases Unofficial reporters

West Publishing Company publishes unofficial state cases in regional reporters Many States no longer have official reporters

West's National Reporter System have appellate level court and the state's highest court like the Supreme Court, you generally don't see anything

below that being reported anywhere, except maybe on the court's website.

Coordinated state & local tax planning is

crucial to multistate businesses

Each state can have

different types of taxes which it uses to collect revenue

•State & local taxes have

expanded in recent years

Nontax laws of a state can effect the

federal income tax results of a transaction

There's various ways the most common way is something called

formulary unfortunate - Lead to very non uniform result

Always assess the

impact of state taxes on a transaction

State and local tax is almost as

important as the federal tax code

Key to research of Vernon's Texas Codes is the

index at the end of the volumes for finding any law by topic

Common law and community property law -Focused on

individual income taxation

The federal government come into play if it involves

some sort of a constitutional or federal type issue.

West's National Reporter System Create what are called

state case reporters, overall called the National reporter system.

Various state court determine

state law

Texas Register

the official publication of the state that gives the public notice of proposed actions and adopted policies of executive branch agencies

Administrative Interpretations

•Most states issue administrative interpretations •Most states issue rulings: They can also do private letter rulings for various entities saying whether they think the assessment of some of the state taxes are correct. •May conform to Treasury Decisions •Generally piggyback especially income taxes, state income taxes. •Can be hard to find

BNA State Services

•Portfolios for State Tax Services State portfolios are similar to Federal: •Detailed analysis •Working papers, and •Bibliography & references Topics include: •Income tax •Sales tax •Property tax

Keyword Search

•Select "State & Local" on the opening screen •Type of tax and document must be specified: Any or all may be selected Another option is "Multiple Sources Search": •Includes additional database: Miscellaneous Multistate Materials •Type of tax must be one of the keywords •This option not necessary if searching just one state

CCH Network State Service Citation Search

•Similar to CCH's Federal citation search •"Find by Citation" provides templates for: •State Tax Day •U.S. Supreme Court •Pending & enacted legislation •Every state's possible primary sources •Select a state first, then only that state's templates will appear

Secondary Sources

•Similar to Federal •CCH: State Tax Cases Reporter •RIA: State and Local Taxes •Some separate reporters for each state •Multistate Handbooks - Most important law for each state (Sale tax rule) •Some separate state master tax guides

State of Texas

•Similar to Federal System •Process similar •New terminology

Internet

•Sites exist that have numerous links to state tax sites (see next slide)

•1962-to date: Southwestern Reporter

•Smith v. Babcock & Wilcox Const. Co., 913 S.W.2d 467 (Tex. 1995). 913 S.W.2d 467 (Tex. 1995). 913 S.W.2d 467 -Volume 913, Southwestern reporter second series, page 467 Tex. : The Texas Supreme Court, Years

•1962-to date: SouthWestern Reporter

•Smith v. State, 907 S.W.2d 522 (Tex. Crim. App. 1995) •Tex. Crim. App: The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

•Various newsletters are available

•Some sent via e-mail

CCH Network State Service •News Services

•State Tax Day is updated daily •State Tax Review is updated weekly

Periodicals

•State and Local Taxation (WG&L) •Multistate Corporate Tax Guide (Aspen) •Journal of Multistate Taxation and Incentives (WG&L) •Journal of State Taxation (Aspen/CCH)

•Administrative

•State revenue agencies interpret and enforce the tax laws •Texas comptroller -Who basically audits various returns of various businesses and makes determinations as to whether they are complying with laws. •Most state agencies issue rulings

Judicial

•States have two or three court levels •The name for each level is not consistent among states

Basic Components of State Tax Research

•Taxing relationship between states •Each state's specific tax laws •Procedural and compliance issues - Vary: •Tax Code •Tax Agency •Court Structure •Conformity between state and federal tax laws

How a bill becomes law in the State of Texas

•Texas Law and legislation (Chart how bill flow) •Unlike the Federal Constitution, there is no requirement that tax bills start either the House or the Senate.

Texas Administrative Code •16 Tex. Admin. Code §3.9 (1988) (Tex. R.R. Comm'n, Disposal Wells)

•Title 16 •Texas Administrative Code •Section 3.9 •Year of Volume publication: 1998 May include: •Texas Commission (R.R. Commission) - Railroad •Subject of the Regulation (Disposal Wells)

Contents Search

•Treat the tax service as if it were a printed book •Contains table of contents and index •Can use keyword search or drill down to find material

Texas Courts of Last Resort

•Various Procedural Routes •Direct appeal - From various district courts •Certified question - Question of law that you want the Supreme Court to answer. •Discretionary review without petition -You can apply for them to review your case •Done it correctly - and they are going to force either granted or deny it again it is discretionary on their part. •If the Texas Supreme Court denies your appeal or petition, generally that means it thinks the lower court has decided it correctly •Application for writ of error, and •petition for discretionary review

•1886-1962: Texas Criminal Reports (Official)

•Witt v. State, 170 Tex. Crim. 387, 341 S.W.2d 457 (1960).