United States: Delaware’s Unclaimed Property Audit Program Dealt Blow

The judge in a case challenging Delaware’s use of sampling and extrapolation to determine unclaimed property liabilitydenied the state’s motion to dismiss and in doing so, seriously questioned the State’s approach.  Temple-Inland v. Cook, U.S. Dist. Ct. (DE), Civ. No. 14-654-SLR (3/11/2015).  Temple-Inland brought a suit against the State following an unclaimed property audit of its accounts payable balances and before the audit of other property types was completed.  Delaware found Temple-Inland liable for […]

By |March 16th, 2015|

United States: Alabama Department Of Revenue Gets A Second Chance To Justify Diesel Fuel Sales Tax Against Rail Carriers

In the State of Alabama’s and CSX Transportation’s second trip to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court held in a 7-2 decision on March 4 that Alabama’s sales tax on diesel fuel purchased and used by rail carriers—where motor and water carriers are exempt from the tax—discriminates against rail carriers only if Alabama cannot justify the differences in tax treatment between those similarly situated taxpayers. Alabama Dep’t of Rev. v. CSX Transp., Inc., No. […]

By |March 13th, 2015|

Canada: Another Turn At Cheek: Willfulness And Non-US Residents

A. Background
Since 2012, US citizens1 living in Canada (and elsewhere outside the US) have had two options to address income tax non-compliance issues: the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (“OVDP”) and the Streamlined filing procedure (“Streamlined”). The more comprehensive OVDP program offers criminal amnesty after pre-clearance, extensive disclosures, and a mandatory penalty payment. Streamlined presents a less onerous path of fewer filings and reduced (or eliminated) penalty. Originally, Streamlined was available only to nonresident taxpayers […]

By |March 13th, 2015|