Here is a brief summary of a few of the Ohio state tax issues and opportunities we have recently worked on for our clients:

• Representing several large financial institutions at the Board of Tax Appeals in a Financial Institutions Tax appeal involving alternative apportionment and the constitutionality of the FIT’s regressive rate structure. See e.g. Dollar Bank, FSB v. Harris, BTA Case No. 2022-1361.
• Representing multiple retailers at the Supreme Court of Ohio and Board of Tax Appeals in appeals involving the interpretation of the ultimate destination rule for sales of tangible personal property. See, e.g., Nine West Holdings v. McClain, OH Sup. Ct. Case No. 2023-1288; Land’n Sea, Inc. v. Harris, BTA Case Bo. 2022-1362; Aldo U.S. Inc. v. Harris, BTA Case No. 2023-461 and 462.
• Representing a taxpayer at the Supreme Court of Ohio in a dispute regarding the CAT exclusion for amounts received as an agent on behalf of another. Aramark Corporation v. Harris, OH Sup. Ct. Case No. 2023-1540.
• Representing a health care services provider at the Supreme Court of Ohio in an appeal involving the proper sourcing of health care services performed in multiple states. Total Renal Care, Inc. v. McClain, OH Sup. Ct. Case No. 2023-1056.
• Representing several large pharmaceutical companies in appeals involving the taxability of chargebacks and other rebates for CAT purposes.Resolved appeals at the Board of Tax Appeals for multiple asset managers in disputes involving the sourcing of mutual fund receipts for CAT purposes. See, e.g. American Century Investment Services, Inc. v. McClain, BTA Case No. 2018-988.
• Resolved an appeal at the Board of Tax Appeals involving the applicability of the CAT exclusion for discounts and returns and allowances. Hewlett Packard Company v. O’Leary, BTA Case No. 2021-546.
• Resolved a sales and use tax appeal for a manufacturer at the Board of Tax Appeals involving the taxability of certain accounting journal entries included in an audit sample, the exclusion for employment services, and other issues. Pittsburgh Glass Works LLC v. Harris, BTA Case No. 2022-285.
• Represented multiple financial institutions at the Supreme Court of Ohio in cases involving the applicability of the Financial Institutions Tax credit for regulatory fees to banks not chartered in Ohio. Central Ohio Bancorp v. McClain, Case No. 2020-0855; Cincinnati Federal Savings & Loan v. McClain, Case No. 2020-0856.
• Resolved a sales and use tax appeal at the Board of Tax Appeals for a security company by arguing that transactions at issue qualified as construction contracts. Johnson Controls Security Solutions v. McClain, BTA Case No. 2018-330.
• Obtained large refunds for several food products companies and other wholesalers at various appeal levels by successfully arguing that certain discounts and rebates offered to retailers qualify for exclusions from CAT.
• Represented a technology company in a dispute involving the proper sourcing of services provided to customers located in multiple jurisdictions, and the effect of book/tax adjustments in calculating CAT gross receipts.
• Substantially reduced a sales and use tax assessment for a national consumer goods company at the Board of Tax Appeals by expanding the manufacturing exemption and challenging Ohio’s assertion that certain purchases of services were subject to tax. Morton International Inc. v. Testa, BTA Case No. 2013-6125.
• Represented a national information technology company at the Board of Tax Appeals in challenging a sales and use tax assessment regarding the scope of the resale exemption, whether certain purchases qualified as “business fixtures,” and Department assertions that certain purchases of services were subject to tax. ACS State & Local Solutions, Inc. v. Testa, BTA Case No. 2012-587.
• Advised a consumer goods manufacturer on the applicability of tax to repair services and the extent of the manufacturing exemption for sales and use tax.
• Represented multiple health care goods and services providers at the Board of Tax Appeals in an issue involving federal preemption of the CAT on federal health benefit plans. See, e.g., Walgreen Co. v. Testa, BTA Case No. 2014-1591.
• Represented a national food processing company as amicus before the Ohio Supreme Court in a case involving the constitutionality of the CAT as applied to the sale or purchase of food. Ohio Grocers Association, et al. v. Levin, Case No. 2008-2018.

Ohio State Tax Intelligence

As part of our full service for clients with Ohio tax issues, we maintain a database of published and unpublished Department of Taxation rulings and pending cases involving Commercial Activities Tax, Sales and Use Tax, and the Financial Institutions Tax. We are also a member of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce Tax Committee, and a frequent member of the planning committee for the Ohio Tax Conference, where several of our attorneys have spoken on various topics.