No, it’s not the Cleveland Indians beating the Yankees; rather, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe beat the New York Tax Department. After the New York cigarette tax on name-brand cigarettes sold on Indian lands some tribes decided to make their own cigarettes. The Mohawk tribe sold some of their cigarettes to a Nebraska tribe; New York seized the cigarettes because they didn’t pay the tax. A New York judge ruled that the state couldn’t do that.
Posts Tagged ‘Taxdood’
Indians Win One Against New York
Sunday, June 24th, 2012Amazon Tax Tossed in Colorado
Sunday, April 29th, 2012Taxdood has had a good series of posts on the Amazon tax. Amazon.com has negotiated with several states regarding collecting sales tax on purchases made from the online retailer. Amazon will begin to collect sales tax in Texas (beginning July 1st) and Nevada (2014).
Some states have imposed “Amazon” taxes–writing laws that force the online company to collect sales tax in those states. The typical Amazon tax says that affiliates cause Amazon to have nexus to that state. Recent court decisions may make Amazon bolder in fighting the taxes.
This past week a judge in Chicago ruled that Illinois’ Amazon tax was unconstitutional. In Denver, Judge Robert Blackburn ruled Colorado’s Amazon tax unconstitutional because it, “impose[s] an undue burden on interstate commerce…Enforcing a reporting requirement on out-of-state retailers will, by definition, discriminate against the out-of-state retailers by imposing unique burdens on those retailers.” I expect the Colorado Department of Revenue to appeal.
There is the possibility of this case heading to the US Supreme Court in a couple of years, especially if one Appeals Court rules the tax constitutional and another court rules it unconstitutional.
Taxes and Gambling Series
Wednesday, February 15th, 2012About once a year I get asked, “I won some money gambling, but I didn’t get a W-2G. Do I really have to declare that income?”
The answer is easy: All income is taxable unless Congress exempts it, and gambling income isn’t exempt. Not receiving a tax form doesn’t mean you don’t have to report the income.
Taxdood has written an introduction to taxes for gambling; the second of several posts appeared yesterday. It makes an excellent primer.
Ignoring Tax Advice and then Suing the Attorney who Gave the Advice Isn’t Brilliant
Monday, January 16th, 2012Let’s assume you talk to your attorney, and he advises you that you should create a reserve fund for taxes. Usually, it’s a good idea to listen to your attorney. If you don’t like his opinion, perhaps get a second opinion.
Of course, there’s also the Bozo method. The Miccosukee Tribe runs a successful casino near Miami, Florida. The tribe is exempt from taxes (it’s a sovereign nation). However, its members must pay taxes. They decided that they knew better than their attorney, and didn’t report distributions to its members or create a reserve fund in case their opinion was wrong. The Miccosukees filed a malpractice suit against their longtime attorney in a Florida court. The attorney had copies of his advice which pretty much (to this layman’s eyes) throws the malpractice case in the trash can.
Taxdood has more. Hint: The Miccosukee Tribe is the first nominee for the Bozo Tax Offender of the Year.
