The Ohio Supreme Court upheld the right of Ohio municipalities to tax wages earned by employees working outside the municipality from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Schaad v. Alder Slip Opinion No. 2024-Ohio-525 (Feb. 14, 2024). This ruling benefits Ohio’s larger cities by preserving their ability to tax wages that would have been earned in the city based upon the employees’ principal place of work during the pandemic. The Court held that the Due Process Clause under the U.S. Constitution did not apply to intrastate taxation and, thus, the General Assembly was free to dictate where wages w ..read more

As we’ve seen significant property value appreciation over the last few years, owners and commercial/industrial tenants need to be aware of the opportunity to contest their property’s valuation. Objections to real property tax valuation to reduce 2023 taxes, paid in 2024, must be filed with your County’s Board of Revisions by April 1, 2024. Many Ohio property owners who recently received their 1st half tax bills may have been shocked at the increases in their property taxes. It is critical for property owners and long-term tenants to review the tax valuation of their property now to ensure it ..read more

The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 (H.R. 7024) would terminate the employee retention credit (ERC) for claims filed after January 31, 2024. Initially authorized by the CARES Act to incentivize businesses to retain their employees, the ERC provided substantial cash refunds to businesses negatively affected by government COVID-19 orders. But the IRS received so many improper and fraudulent ERC claims that it took the unusual step of issuing a moratorium on processing new ERC claims and implemented withdrawal and voluntary disclosure programs for taxpayers to rescind imp ..read more

Preparing for significant changes to Ohio commercial activity tax for 2024 – Majority of taxpayers will no longer be subject to CAT following increases in annual exclusions. Ohio’s Budget Bill (H.B. 33) significantly changed corporate activity tax (“CAT”) by increasing the annual exclusion beginning with the 2024 tax year. H.B. 33 eliminated the CAT’s alternative minimum tax and increased the annual exclusion from $1 million to $3 million for 2024 and $6 million for 2025. Therefore, starting in 2024, businesses with taxable gross receipts less than $3 million and, in 2025, less than $6 million ..read more

Ohio Commercial Activity Tax has an exclusion from gross receipts for property or money received or acquired as an agent in excess of the agent’s commission fee or other reimbursement. R.C. 5751.02(F)(2)(l). Aramark Corp., the taxpayer in this case, contracted with educational, healthcare, and government institutions to provide food service operations. See Aramark Corp. v. Harris, Ohio BTA Case No. 2019-2975. Aramark would purchase food and labor and incur other costs in connection with its services. Aramark’s customers would reimburse Aramark for the costs incurred and pay a management fee on ..read more

VVF Interest LLC (“VVF”), represented by Buckingham attorneys Rich Fry, Steve Dimengo and Nate Fulmer, notched a significant victory at the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals for the situsing of its sales for Ohio commercial activity tax purposes. VVF Intervest, LLC v. Harris, BTA Case No. 2019-1233 (Decision and Order, Sept. 13, 2023). Although the products manufactured and sold by VVF were routed through an Ohio distribution center, the Board held that this was not where the good were ultimately received by the purchaser (HRB). It was critical that the goods were only transported to Ohio for further ..read more

Click here to view the Sales & Use Tax Subcommittee Report that Steve and Rich presented to the Ohio State Bar Association’s Taxation Law Committee on September 14, 2023. The OSBA Sales/Use Tax Subcommittee Report discusses recent developments regarding exemptions, procedure and legislation. If you have any questions regarding this Subcommittee Report or any Ohio sales & use tax questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Previous Subcommittee Reports are available on our Resources tab. Attorney Steven A. Dimengo is Managing Partner of Buckingham, Doolittl ..read more

Ohio’s Biennial Budget Bill (H.B. 33) was signed into law by Governor DeWine on July 4, 2023. The Bill focused on investments to boost Ohio economic development, education, and healthcare, but also included significant cuts Ohio business and personal income taxes. Additionally, the General Assembly enacted several new or expanded credit and incentive opportunities. Ohio Personal Income Tax: Continuing the tax cut trends over the past decade, Ohio further reduced the number of tax brackets and cut tax rates for all brackets. Beginning in 2024, Ohio will only have two tax brackets with a top rat ..read more

Click here to view the Sales & Use Tax Subcommittee Report that Steve and Rich presented to the Ohio State Bar Association’s Taxation Law Committee on February 15, 2023. The OSBA Sales/Use Tax Subcommittee Report discusses recent developments regarding exemptions, procedure and legislation. If you have any questions regarding this Subcommittee Report or any Ohio sales & use tax questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Previous Subcommittee Reports are available on our Resources tab. Attorney Steven A. Dimengo is Managing Partner of Buckingham, Dool ..read more

The employee retention credit (ERC) can be a tremendous boon for eligible employers to claim substantial cash refunds for keeping their employees on the payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic. To qualify, the employer must have experienced: (1) a significant reduction in gross receipts compared to the same quarter in 2019; or (2) a partial suspension of business operations due to government orders. It is the second qualifier – the partial suspension of business operations due to a government order – that involves complex analysis and verification to ensure credits are properly claimed. It is vit ..read more