Economic Nexus and State Income Taxes: The Growing Threat

Analyzing State Policies and Standards to Minimize Tax and Penalties

Recording of a 110-minute CLE/CPE webinar/teleconference with Q&A


Conducted on Thursday, February 25, 2010
Recorded event now available


This CPE and CLE seminar will review recent developments in case law, legislation and regulations affecting state economic nexus standards. The panel will outline compliance strategies for minimizing penalties and corporate tax liabilities.

Description

State governments, under economic pressure to squeeze every possible dollar from corporate taxpayers, are becoming bolder in creating and enforcing nexus standards for their corporate income taxes. Standards are more often based on abstract concepts of market creation than on physical activity.

States jumping on the "economic nexus" bandwagon recently include California, Michigan and Wisconsin. High profile cases in states like Ohio, Massachusetts and New Jersey also demand attention. Nexus can be triggered in those states with only a minimal level of activity.

You must understand the regulatory subtleties, state law variations, and the impact of case law to ensure full, accurate compliance. Multistate corporate taxpayers must be proactive in identifying where and how state nexus is triggered to avoid penalties and unexpected tax burdens.

Listen as our panel of state corporate income tax experts thoroughly examines the most recent developments in state economic nexus standards and explains how those changes impact corporate income tax compliance.

Outline

  1. Corporate income tax nexus regs, laws in key states
    1. Michigan’s MBT nexus standard
      1. Separate standard for two tax bases
      2. PL 86-272 protections
    2. Ohio’s CAT nexus standard, “bright line test”
    3. Latest developments in California, Wisconsin, other states
  2. Recent and historical cases with impact on economic nexus
    1. Overstock.com v. Levin
    2. MBNA v. W.Va. Tax Commissioner
    3. Lanco v. Director, Division of Taxation
    4. Other cases
    5. Impact of U.S. Supreme Court’s denials
  3. Economic nexus and FIN 48
    1. How to apply the more likely than not standard?
    2. Using legal decisions, rulings as a guide
  4. Actions needed from corporate tax department
    1. Nexus reviews
    2. Voluntary disclosure agreements
    3. Amnesty program participation
  5. Developments on the horizon in courts, legislatures, Congress

Benefits

The panel will give you the tools you need to stay on top of your potential nexus exposure, including:

  • In-depth analysis of the most recent state and federal court decisions that impact economic nexus.
  • Updates on state regulations and legislation that define definitions of nexus for key states' corporate income taxes.
  • Strategies to determine whether voluntary disclosure or amnesty programs offer opportunities to mitigate penalties.
  • Analysis of the likelihood of progress with federal Business Activity Tax legislation.

Faculty

Owen Knopping, Partner
Fox Rothschild, Philadelphia

He works for clients on all aspects of state, federal and local tax administration and also co-chairs the firm's Federal Tax Controversy and Litigation Practice Group. He has lectured and written extensively on a variety of tax topics.

Patrick Duffany, Tax Partner
J.H. Cohn, Glastonbury, Conn.

He specializes in multi-state taxation, particularly with regard to New York and Connecticut. He has more than 20 years of public accounting experience, including 17 years as a lead SALT professional with a Big Four firm.

Helen Young, State and Local Tax Director
RSM McGladrey, Pasadena, Calif.

She works with the firm's Sales and Use Tax and Property Tax Teams and its audit controversy group. Her tax planning and consulting work for clients covers nexus studies, audit controversy and appeals, and M&A due diligence, among other engagements.

Thomas Steele, Partner
Morrison & Foerster, San Francisco

He chairs the firm's West Coast State and Local Practice Group and has been a partner since 1982. He focuses on SALT matters with a particular specialty in defending technology and telecom companies' tax strategies in litigation.

Ordering

CPE on Live Event

Continuing Professional Education credit processing is available for an additional $35 per person. You may register for CPE credit processing at any time before or after the program.

Strafford is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a CPE sponsor.

CPE Processing $35.00


Recorded Event

Includes full event recording plus handouts (available after live seminar).

CPE: Self-study CPE is not offered on recorded events.

CLE: Pre-approved for self-study credit in AK, AZ, CA, CT*, MO, MT, NY*, TX, VT, WA. Upon request, self-study credit is also available in: CO, FL, GA, ID, KY, LA, ME, ND, NE, NH, NM, NV, OR, UT, WI, WV, WY. If you are applying for self-study credit in one of these states, contact Strafford CLE at 1-800-926-7926 ext. 35 or CLE@straffordpub.com. (*For CT and NY, Strafford needs to process the CLE — see below to purchase this option.)

MP3 Download (Audio with Slide PDFs) $247.00
Available 24 hours after the live event

How does this work?

Webinar Download (Slide Presentation with Audio) $247.00
Available three business days after the live event

How does this work?

CD (Audio with Slide PDFs) $247.00 plus $9.45 S&H
Available ten business days after the live event

DVD (Slide Presentation with Audio) $247.00 plus $9.45 S&H
Available ten business days after the live event

CLE Processing on Recorded Event $65.00


CLE on Live Event

Continuing Legal Education credit processing is available for an additional $65 per person per state in states where webinars and teleconferences are accredited.

This webinar is eligible for at least 1.5 general CLE credits, depending on state rules.

You may register for CLE credit processing before or after a program (application deadlines vary by state).  Exceptions: Pennsylvania attorneys must pre-register for CLE. Maine and Alabama attorneys please call 1-800-926-7926 ext. 10 for special instructions.

CLE credits are not available for DE, IN, KS, OH, and PR or for NY attorneys admitted within the last 2 years.

CLE Processing $65.00

How does this work?

Webinar/Teleconference

Strafford webinars/teleconferences offer several options for participation: online viewing of speaker-controlled PowerPoint presentations with audio via computer speakers or via phone; or audio only via telephone (download speaker handouts prior to the program).  Please note that our webinars do not feature videos of the presenters.

Program Materials

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Program Materials

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CPE Credit

Strafford's live seminars qualify for CPE credits. They offer you a high quality, cost effective, and convenient CPE option, with no lost travel time or expenses.

CLE Credit

Strafford's live seminars qualify for CLE in every state that accredits webinars. They offer you a high quality, cost effective, and convenient CLE option, with no lost travel time or expenses.

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Customer Reviews

Great preparatory material. Conference helped to highlight some of the points that I need to consider going forward.

Rick Campbell

Corptax

This teleconference greatly helped us understand the new challenges.

Andrew Toth

Tronconi Segarra & Associates

The program had excellent presenters that were extremely knowledgeable.

Lisa R. Volland

Legacy Professionals

Very interesting, informed us on the most recent updates.

Kristin Thompson

Global Tax Management

Offered different view points and real life, practical examples.

Angela Chretin

Northrop Grumman

State Income Tax Advisory Board

David Adler

Director of Multistate Tax Services

Deloitte Tax

Stephanie Anne Lipinski Galland

Partner

Thompson Coburn

Don Griswold

State & Local Tax Partner

Reed Smith

Walter Pickhardt

Partner

Faegre & Benson

Richard Pomp

Professor of Tax Law

University of Connecticut

Michael Press

Managing Principal

M.R. Press Consulting

Tammy Propst

President

taxadvantagegroup

Thomas Zaino

Member

McDonald Hopkins