Forbes (September 8, 2022):  The exodus of business owners leaving California raises an issue that may be counterintuitive for some—that California can and will tax the income of nonresidents who never set foot in the state. Unlike wages or compensation, which are typically taxed where services are performed, it is the footprint of the business […]

When it comes to the taxation of nonresidents, the California tax agencies—the Franchise Tax Board and the Office of Tax Appeals (“OTA”)—have held that a nonresident business owner, who never set foot in California (hereafter, the “State”), owed personal income taxes to the State. This is based on application of rules that look to the […]

Tax Notes (April 12, 2021):  Relying on an overly broad interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Wayfair, the Multistate Tax Commission appears poised to recommend weakening P.L. 86-272’s protection — even though Wayfair did not interpret and made no mention of the federal statute.   Click here to view entire article

Law360 (December 7, 2020) — We predict the 2020s will see just as seismic a shift in state tax constitutional law as the 2010s did with South Dakota v. Wayfair Inc.[1] Single-sales-factor apportionment will be subjected to a modern, nuanced judicial analysis, and another decades-old foundational precedent, Moorman Manufacturing Co. v. Bair[2] — upholding single-sales […]

Forbes, Los Angeles (April 18, 2018): In a little over 72 hours in June 2017, Governor Jerry Brown and legislative leaders used the state budget process to radically transform California’s tax system, which had been in place for roughly the past 87 years. To me, that seems a bit like a physician performing open heart […]

Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine (November 2017):  CALIFORNIA RECENTLY ENACTED ASSEMBLY BILL 102 (AB 102), dramatically shifting power from the state Board of Equalization (BOE). Also known as The Taxpayer Transparency and Fairness Act of 2017, AB 102 reorganizes the BOE and creates two new California taxing agencies that replace the BOE in appeals of state […]

Is the MTC the Multistate Tax Commission or the Multistate Tax Compact? After many years of litigating that question, we now know Commission is the better fit, as the courts have told us there is no binding compact. The commission “hazards much” to successfully argue the compact is merely an advisory agreement. But at what […]

Last month, the Fourth District Court of Appeal issued an unexpected decision that could blow a hole through the constitutional vote requirements that protect Californians from unnecessary taxes. If the decision is not reversed by the California Supreme Court or de-published, it could result in the people of California losing their right to vote on […]