Episode 45

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Published on:

16th Mar 2022

Litigating SALT Cases with Leah Robinson (Part 2)

In the second episode of a two-part series, we continue our conversation with Leah Robinson, an attorney and state and local tax partner with Mayer Brown in New York. Leah continues to discuss some of the most interesting tax cases she has litigated, her thoughts on what could be deemed government overreach, and where she has seen some recent state auditor “gotchas” that we should all be aware of.

 


Questions asked and answered in this Episode:


  • How Leah approaches each case


  • After being at the IRS and then representing clients against the state, how does she feel about the mentality with the IRS and the state?


  •  Where she sees government overreach beyond what is allowable under the constitution

 


What You Will Discover:


  • [00:24] How Leah decides how to approach each case


  • [02:38] The mentality between the IRS vs the state


  • [06:24] Looking how a product functions from a tech point of view


  • [10:27] Examples of overreach


  • [15:09] Where she sees government overreach


  • [28:06] An interesting thing about the compliance effort

 


Quotables:


 


  • “There definitely are cases where we want an answer. We need the answer, and if we can have a settlement that also gives us a going forward answer, fine, but you can’t always get that.”- Leah Robinson [01:57]


  • “And I get it. The business folks in a company want to describe themselves a certain way. They want to appeal to their client base, but that doesn’t mean that that’s what the technology really is doing.”- Leah Robinson [06:45]


  • “I think post-Wayfair, there’s been an assumption that economic nexus is the end of the story.”- Leah Robinson [15:45]


  • “I still think physical presence is an easier standard, and cookies, even though they are intangibles, they still take up space, right? My hard drive has a limited amount of space. So even things that are intangible like software, they still take up space on the server, on a hard drive, etc.”- Leah Robinson [25:35]


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Production Support

This episode was produced with support from Truth Work Media. www.truthworkmedia.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Introductory Call

Introductory Call

Show artwork for SALTovation: Navigating the Complexities of State and Local Tax

About the Podcast

SALTovation: Navigating the Complexities of State and Local Tax
Over 1,000 business taxpayers nationwide, and globally, have trusted us to
manage their state and local tax (SALT) obligations. Our innovative SALTovation
team is revolutionizing how companies approach SALT by looking at tax from the
inside out. We know how SALT works, what it takes to maintain compliance, and
how to seize opportunities. With Aprio’s SALTovation team, you gain access to
industry-leading strategies and specialists who can guide businesses and
practitioners on the best path forward, whether you’re proactively addressing
potential issues or getting back on track. Discover how SALTovation can help you
stay ahead and thrive.