- In early January, Governing revealed that 25 states are facing budget shortfalls going into 2018, but “[t]hat’s better than the 31 shortfalls [that the government relations firm MultiState] found last January.” The states with high concentrations of oil and natural resource states, mostly in the Midwest and the Northeast, are hardest hit.
- Alert
2018 McDonald Hopkins Business Outlook Survey Results
- News
- News
- News
- The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced that the antitrust division is working on a number of criminal cases concerning companies that entered into so-called no-poaching agreements.
- Podcast
- Alert
- AlertIn this report, we’re taking a look at the impact our female attorneys had in 2017 at McDonald Hopkins and beyond.
- Vermont is already a bit of a trailblazer, as the state is set to be the next to legalize recreational weed, but the first to do so via legislation. Now the tiny jurisdiction is showing its stripes in a different context this week, by considering legislation that would tax blockchain, cryptocurrency, and financial technology.
- Gov. Greg Abbott made the rounds last week pushing his property tax ideas that establish a revenue growth cap of 2.5 percent per year. This is a continuation of the plan he delivered at last year’s state-of-the-state speech, when he said that he wanted to reform the property tax system by imposing a “real revenue cap,” and preventing cities from raising property taxes without voter approval.
- Gov. Henry McMaster unveiled his 2018-19 executive budget, touting the plan as “a balanced budget that prioritizes taxpayer savings in the form of an income tax cut that, in its first five years of implementation, will result in $2.2 billion of taxpayer savings. All while investing in important areas of need such as public safety, workforce readiness, K-12 education, and access to healthcare.”
- News
The SBA has created and is posting a list, the SBA Franchise Directory, of all franchise and other brands reviewed by the SBA that are eligible for SBA financial assistance.
- News
In a Jan. 4, 2018, memo on marijuana enforcement, the Justice Department announced “a return to the rule of law and the rescission of previous guidance documents.” States are not happy about the uncertainty that the memo has generated, at least in part because they are so pleased with the revenue that pot brings in.
- To the delight of the state of South Dakota, the United States Supreme Court accepted its case, South Dakota v. Wayfair, on Jan. 12, 2017. The crux of this lawsuit is the legal permissibility of South Dakota’s spring 2016 law, SB 106, which has a purpose to “provide for the collection of sales taxes from certain remote sellers.”
- Court rules that a a plaintiff must allege an actual injury or adverse effect, such as that his or her biometric data was improperly sold or otherwise shared, to state a claim under Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.
- News
- According to two reports from Pew Charitable Trusts, Illinois is one of four states that have seen consistent population declines since 2015. The continuing erosion of Illinois’ tax base is the state’s most pressing budget problem.
- News
- News
- PodcastMike Witzke is joined by James Boutrous, managing member in the firm’s Detroit office. Jim informs listeners about the necessary steps their business must take when terminating an employee to avoid potential legal action. This is part one of a two-episode labor and employment discussion on MH Business Exchange.
- News
Host Mike Witzke is joined by James Boutrous, managing member in the firm’s Detroit office. In the episode titled “Terminating an employee, while protecting your business,” Boutrous informs listeners about the necessary steps their business must take when terminating an employee to avoid potential legal action. This is part one of a two-episode labor and employment discussion on MH Business Exchange.
- News
- The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California recently denied summary judgment to two Korean companies (and their American subsidiaries) that attempted to use the Sherman Act’s statute of limitations to escape a class action, price-fixing claim concerning ramen noodles
- The South Carolina Department of Revenue recently issued a news release reminding drivers to “start saving receipts in January 2018 to claim new motor fuel income tax credit.” The news release further explains what South Carolinians need to know about the tax credit.
- New York’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave his 2018 state of the state speech, the first governor to do so in the new year. After acknowledging that “2017 was a tough year by any measure,” due to terrorism and Mother Nature, the governor celebrated “historic investments in education, health care and economic development.”
- The Ohio budget legislation that Gov. John Kasich signed into law last July contained an expanded statutory definition of “substantial nexus,” which governs the taxability of sales made by vendors that are located outside of the state. On Dec. 29, 2017, the American Catalog Mailers Association sued the Ohio Department of Taxation on behalf of “at least one member” subject to the new statute. The suit seeks a declaration that the newly enacted statute violates federal law.
- A new bill was introduced that would force companies to file for bankruptcy protection in the state where they are headquartered or hold most of their assets.
- NewsDistinguished attorney Michael J. Hayes, Sr. joins McDonald Hopkins
- A basic overview of succession planning and why it is important for minority business owners to have a plan in place for their business.
4 tips that will assist employers in dealing with employee call-offs.
- Just after Thanksgiving, Judge John Ruhl of the King County Superior Court in the state of Washington struck down Seattle’s ordinance imposing a 2.25 percent income tax on joint filers with incomes over $500,000, and single filers with incomes over $250,000. Seattle officials promised to take their case to the Washington Supreme Court, and so they have, with their Dec. 8, 2017 notice of appeal, which Bloomberg posted on-line.
Among the many changes in the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is a little-noticed provision that is a clear nod to the current sexual harassment firestorm. The act includes a provision that directly impacts employers settling sexual harassment claims.
- In a Dec. 22, 2017 opinion in Graphic Packaging Corporation v. Glenn Hegar, et al., the Texas Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s decision in favor of the state, costing Graphic Packaging close to $1 million in taxes.
- In December, the South Carolina Supreme Court weighed in on an apportionment case, declining to review the lower court’s ruling in Rent-A-Center West, Inc. v. S.C. Dept of Revenue. Thus, Rent-A Center’s use of a three-factor apportionment method to apportion the only income it had in the state, from royalties, stands as resolved by the appellate court.
- News
- News
- While the Midwest is still experiencing low natural gas pricing, the Northeast is seeing prices spike. The situation appears ready to climax this week as blizzard-like conditions strike, followed by more record cold.
- Alert
- As record cold grips a large portion of the country and folks worry about the increasing cost of heating their homes, natural gas pricing remains well below the 10 year average.
- News
- Podcast
- A provision of the budget bill signed into law over the summer established a tax amnesty program that will run from Jan. 1, 2018, to Feb. 15, 2018, and the Ohio Department of Taxation is selling it with vigor.
- On Jan. 1, 2018, the sale and taxation of recreational marijuana will become lawful in California. In a recent press release, Fitch Ratings warned that California's relatively high tax rate will “encourage black market sales and limit potential local government revenues.”
- AlertThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected all of the construction and other industries’ challenges to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) new Respirable Crystalline Silica in Construction Standard that went into effect on Sept. 23, 2017 (29 CFR 1926.1153).
- As it currently stands, federal tax rules allow individuals who itemize their deductions to deduct the full amount of their state and local tax (SALT) income tax payments from the taxable income on their federal returns. But the tax reform bill limits the deduction for income, sales or property taxes to $10,000, or $5,000 in the case of a married individual filing a separate return, for tax years 2018 through 2025.
- Close to 140 municipalities in Ohio are plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Joseph Testa and Mike DeWine, the state’s tax commissioner and attorney general, respectively. The 11 count complaint alleges that the so-called municipal income tax provisions contained in the budget that Gov. John Kasich signed into law over the summer, as well as certain enforcement provisions contained in H.B. 5, are legally impermissible.
