ACMA Files Suit to Challenge NY Tax Regulation

On April 5, 2024, Brann & Isaacson filed a complaint in New York state court on behalf of the American Catalog Mailers Association (ACMA), challenging a recently issued New York Department of Taxation and Finance regulation, 20 N.Y.C.R.R. § 1-2.10. That regulation improperly expands the authority of the Department to impose income tax obligations on...

California Court Confirms Invalidity of California Tax Rules, Awards ACMA over $330,000 in Attorney Fees

On February 13, 2024, in a lawsuit brought by Brann & Isaacson on behalf of the American Catalog Mailers Association (ACMA) against the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB), San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ethan P. Schulman issued orders on post-judgment motions affirming the ACMA’s victory and awarding the association attorney fees of $332,895.50 and costs...

California Court Invalidates Unlawful Franchise Tax Board Regulations

On December 13, 2023, in a lawsuit brought by Brann & Isaacson on behalf of the American Catalog Mailers Association (ACMA) against the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB), San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman issued an order that two 2022 publications of the FTB are void as invalid “underground regulations,” indicating that he will...

David Swetnam-Burland and Jamie Szal Pen State Tax Notes Cover Article on State Tax and Machine Learning Products

On November 6, 2023, Tax Notes State featured a cover article, ”Machine Learning Machinations in the State Tax Metaverse,” by Brann & Isaacson’s David Swetnam-Burland and Jamie Szal. The authors discuss issues practitioners face when advising clients on the income tax treatment of technology products and services that incorporate or depend on machine learning and,...

Cal. Court of Appeal Clears Path for ACMA Challenge to Tax Reg.

On February 16, 2023, the California Court of Appeal issued a one-line order that will allow the San Francisco Superior Court to hear the merits of a lawsuit by the American Catalog Mailers Association (ACMA) against the California Franchise Tax Board. The ACMA filed suit in August 2022, challenging the Board’s legal authority to publish...

Article by George Isaacson and Nathaniel Bessey Featured in Tax Notes State

Senior partner George Isaacson and partner Nathaniel Bessey wrote the cover article for the July 19, 2021, issue of Tax Notes State, “MTC Declares War on P.L. 86-272.” Isaacson and Bessey criticize the Multistate Tax Commission’s proposed revision to its formal statement on the application of the federal statute in the context of state enforcement...

Tax Notes State Features Second Article by B&I Attorneys On Taxation of AI

On June 4, 2020, in the second of a two–part series, Tax Notes State featured an article on the tax treatment of artificial intelligence, “Hey Siri, What About Income Taxes on AI?” (subscription required), by B&I attorneys Martin I. Eisenstein, Jamie Szal, and Michael Carey. In it, they consider two thorny state income tax issues...

B&I Attorneys Present Webinar on the Chaos in State Tax Law, Post-Wayfair

On April 30, 2020, Brann & Isaacson senior partner George Isaacson, partner Nathaniel Bessey, and associate Jamie Szal, were featured presenters at a webinar on “Confronting the Chaos of State Taxes in the Post-Wayfair Environment,” offered by the Institute of Finance & Management. Isaacson, who represented Wayfair in the Supreme Court in South Dakota v....

B&I Attorneys Pen Cover Story for State Tax Notes

On March 16, 2020, an article by David W. Bertoni, David Swetnam-Burland, and Jamie Szal, “Crossfire Hurricane: Perils in a Post-Wayfair World,” was featured as the cover story in State Tax Notes. The authors address three unanticipated consequences for business from the 2018 Supreme Court opinion in South Dakota v. Wayfair Inc. First, home-rule jurisdictions...

Martin Eisenstein and David Bertoni Author Law360 Article

Managing partner Martin Eisenstein and partner David Bertoni published an article in Law360 on January 28, 2020, entitled, “MTC Panel’s Draft Tax Protection Update Is Incomplete” (subscription required). In the piece, Eisenstein and Bertoni critique the latest draft of the Multistate Tax Commission’s working group revising the Multistate Tax Compact and describing states’ interpretation of...