It is commonly accepted that state use taxes, most notably those that are due on Internet purchases, are largely unenforceable against individual consumers. Consistent with that view, states have focused their enforcement efforts on forcing retailers to collect those taxes at the point of sale,...

Legal scholars have discussed the concept of privacy at length, but that discussion has virtually ignored the federal income tax and its impact on individual privacy. Tax privacy has developed in that void to mean only a limited right of confidentiality notwithstanding the Tax Code's extensive...

This is the first of a series of essays wherein we analyze the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair. In this essay, we tackle some of the more immediate interpretive questions raised by the Wayfair opinion, such as how a state should approach substantial nexus. As part of our...

This is the second of a series of essays wherein we analyze the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair. In this essay, we address issues related to sales tax formalism and income tax nexus

Throughout most of 2020, state and local governments faced severe budget crises as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Increased demand for state welfare services and rising state expenses related to controlling the spread of COVID-19 stretched state and local budgets to their breaking points. At...

The economic-nexus standard has gained significant support during the last decade as the proper standard for determining the scope of states' taxing powers under the Dormant Commerce Clause. Unfortunately, however, despite the widespread acceptance of that standard in the abstract, there is no...

Discussions regarding the scope of state taxing power over nonresident persons have generally focused on one issue — the conditions under which such persons have a sufficient nexus with a state such that the state can tax them without violating the Dormant Commerce Clause. That issue has...

The digital economy is changing faster than the law can respond and has challenged legal systems worldwide. In the tax space, the digital economy has undermined traditional tax systems in ways that have created significant tax compliance and enforcement challenges, substantial tax revenue...

This article is the second in a series evaluating the state tax aspects of the federal Paycheck Protection Program. The first article introduced the program and explained the potential effect on states if Congress were to change the law to allow taxpayers to deduct their PPP-funded expenses....

The article evaluates several ways in which the CARES Act may have affected states' corporate income taxes and how states might respond to protect their tax bases. The broader focus of this analysis, however, is on thinking holistically about the relevant considerations for states as they...