For a number of months the Washington Department of Revenue has been working on guidance for governing the taxation of reimbursement of employee salaries under a common paymaster or common pay agent arrangement. The most recent draft version of an…

In a decision last week, Peck v. AT&T Mobility, the Washington Supreme Court ruled that a seller is prohibited from recouping its B&O taxes by collecting a surcharge in addition to its monthly service fee. The case involved cell phone services…

Recent amendments to the Washington State Consumer Loan Act (“CLA”) may have a big impact on lenders whose commercial loans are secured by a lien on the borrower’s primary residence. Under the newly amended CLA, a person in the business of making a loan…

On April 2, 2012, Division I of the Court of Appeals in Washington found against American Honda Motor Company (Honda) that the Seattle B&O tax was properly applied to imports delivered to Seattle customers. Despite having a rule that appeared to…

Recent changes to the Washington Limited Liability Act (“Act”) addressed the confusion introduced by the 2009 Supreme Court Ruling in Chadwick Farms Owners Ass’n v. FHC LLC, 166 Wash.2d 178, 207 P.3d 1251 (2009). In Chadwick Farms, the court held that…

Partnership, sole proprietorship, limited liability company, and corporation are the four most common forms of business entity people use when starting a small business in Washington State. Although there are more structures to choose from, these four…

A late reminder to anyone involved in the service business in the state of Washington. With the passage of the market-based service apportionment rules in 2010, Washington formalized its procedures for businesses required to apportion their revenues…

On September 29, 2011 the IRS issued Notice 2011-82 alerting executors of the estates of decedents dying after Dec. 31, 2010 to the requirement for filing a timely Form 706 (Estate Tax Return) to preserve a decedent spouse’s unused exclusion amount. A…

One of the most perplexing questions for many businesses is whether a worker is properly classifed as an employee or an indepndent contractor. Many businesses falsely believe that they have an option to treat workers as independent contrators or…

For those businesses engaged in multistate business activities, you might want to review a legal guide that I recently posted on Avvo. The title of the guide is “An Overview of Nexus for Businesses Engaging in Multistate Activities” and it…

On August 5, 2011, the IRS issued guidance to executors of estates for decedents who died in 2010. In Notice 2011-66, the IRS provides that executors of the estate of a decedent that died in 2010 may make an election on Form 8939 on or before November…

President Obama’s 2012 budget, while nowhere close to law, does indicate areas of estate tax planning that taxpayers should consider using before they are restricted. One of these techniques is grantor annuity trusts or GRATs. Obama would place…

Yesterday I attended the Washington Department of Revenue hearing on proposed WAC 458-20-19401 (Rule 19401) and WAC 458-20-19404 (Rule 19402). Rule 19401 covers the minimum nexus threshold for apportionable activities in Washington. Although the concept…

For recreational riders and bike commuters the section of the Burke-Gilman Trail (between the Ballard Fred Meyer and the Locks) known as the “Missing Link” has been the source of some ongoing controversy and, unfortunately, a number of…

In preparing for an upcoming speech on recent developments in state tax nexus, it became all too obvious that states are increasingly looking to out-of-state taxpayers to fill significant holes in their state budgets. By adopting click-through nexus…

Computers and software have become an integral part of our daily lives. When our computer fails, or there is a glitch in the software, it can be extremely aggravating and inconvenient. The risks and the consequences are more signficant, however, when…

On July 1, 2011 the Washington Department of Revenue finalized Excise Tax Advisory Number 3167.2011 (ETA 3167). ETA 3167 states that league fees and entry fees are subject to retail sales tax if they provide the person with the right to participate in…

A new program offered by a company called Capson Physician Insurance Company, which is emphasizing patient-doctor communication through technology (using an iPad) and satisfaction surveys. Clients with potential medical malpractice claims often complain…

A story reported recently in the Seattle Times. In a study of 400 members of Seattle’s Group Health Cooperative with persistent back pain recently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the authors concluded that massage therapy provided…

Jeremiah Doyle, an estate planning strategist at BNY Mellon, delivered an interesting presentation to our partner group today on state taxation of trusts. This is a very complicated area that is often overlooked in trust and estate tax planning. The…