Sam McQuillan

Bloomberg Tax • 23rd June 2020

How Oprah, Walmart Scored Tax Breaks on Films That Others Made

Heinz makes ketchup, not documentaries about gangs. Walmart’s ties to the television series “Empire” would seem to end at selling full-season DVDs.



Yet they and others among the biggest U.S. corporations and high-net-worth individuals have emerged as some of the primary beneficiaries of state tax breaks intended to attract the production of movies, TV series, and commercials.



Critics say it’s yet another way in which these incentives have far surpassed their intended purpose, with litt

Bloomberg Law • 1st October 2019

Legal Arguments for Transgender Care Reshaping Under Trump

One of the strongest legal arguments for government coverage of transgender surgery could be demolished if a White House rule changing the definition of sex discrimination goes into effect.

The Affordable Care Act explicitly states that the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s discrimination protections extend to transgender people. A pending Trump rule would roll back that interpretation, saying gender identity isn’t covered under the sex discrimination provision of the law.

Bloomberg Law • 13th May 2021

States OK to Cover Jobless Aid, Delay Tax Hikes with Federal Aid

States are tapping into their COVID-19 aid to cover the massive cost of unemployment benefits paid out during the pandemic, following a directive from the U.S. Treasury.

States have borrowed more than $50 billion from the Treasury since March 2020 to provide jobless benefits, after depleting $75 billion they held in pre-pandemic unemployment reserves. Some have delayed automatic tax hikes on employers triggered when those funds exhaust.

Bloomberg Tax • 6th August 2021

Vaping Companies Flee Some States Amid Tax Law Confusion (1)

For Dana Shoched, CEO of O2 Vape, a cannabis vaping device supplier in Michigan, complexities from a recent tax reporting law aimed at e-cigarettes, have forced her to abandon business in some states. “It’s been a nightmare,” she said.

21st August 2021

States Still Struggling to Use Federal Covid Relief Funds

While Congress wrestles with another round of Covid-19 relief, states are still figuring out how they can spend the last pot of money they received months ago.

States have allocated 75% of federal funding received through the CARES Act that was signed nearly five months ago, according to a survey from the National Association of State Budget Officers. But based on their latest reports to Treasury, the average state has only spent just 18% of the money.

Bloomberg Law • 18th May 2021

Georgia Film Tax Credit Panned as Hollywood Threatens Boycott

At least one Hollywood studio is pulling production of an upcoming movie out of Georgia in the wake of the state’s controversial new voting law, but the film industry leaving might not be as bad for the “Hollywood of the South” as people think.

In 2016 the state’s film tax credit program lost Georgia roughly $602 million in revenue according to the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts, which issued two reports highlighting abuses of the incentive in 2020. The study bolsters critics who hav

Bloomberg Tax • 11th May 2021

States Appear Undeterred in Suing on Relief Spending Limits (1)

States eager to use federal coronavirus relief money won some leeway from the Treasury Department in how they may deploy it without violating a prohibition on cutting taxes with it. But the guidance isn’t enough to end Republican state lawsuits against the ban.

Bloomberg Tax • 31st August 2021

Remote Workers Face Tax Headaches as States Split on More Relief

Companies with workers punching in from a smattering of different zip codes during the pandemic continue to receive mixed messages on where they owe taxes on employee income.

Bloomberg Tax • 3rd September 2021

Virginia Confederate Statue to Fall After Tax Maneuver Falters

The largest confederate monument in the South is coming down after Virginia’s highest court dismissed claims that a Robert E. Lee statute preserves property tax breaks for Richmond locals.

The Virginia Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed a circuit court ruling in favor of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who in June 2020 announced the state would remove its 100-year-old monument to Gen. Lee following the death of George Floyd.

Bloomberg Law • 1st July 2021

Ohio Wins First State Challenge to Pandemic Aid Spending Limits

Ohio is the first state to win a court challenge against a congressional ban that prevents states from using American Rescue Plan funds to pay for tax cuts.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, in an opinion Thursday, granted Ohio an injunction to prevent Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen from enforcing the government’s ban against the state.

Bloomberg Tax • 17th June 2021

Robust Tax Collections Squelch State Moves for Big Tax Hikes

A handful of states that had been mulling big tax increases have mostly ditched them amid the unexpected influx of post-pandemic tax cash and federal aid.

Total state taxes were up over 81% through April compared with a year earlier, according to data collected by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.

Bloomberg Tax • 23rd February 2021

Telecommuting Boom Puts Employers at Risk for Millions in Taxes

Nearly 40% of office workers don’t know that there may be tax implications of their remote work locations, and only a third of workers report all days worked away from their office jurisdictions, according to a new survey.

In the pandemic, the result is significant risk that employers are blindsided by unexpected tax bills.

Bloomberg News • 30th September 2020

IRS Cuts Tax Break Trump Now Favors Amid Virus

The Internal Revenue Service issued guidelines Wednesday scaling back a tax break for client entertainment, following through on an element of President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax overhaul that he has said he wants to reverse amid the virus pandemic.

Trump’s tax law eliminated the deduction for so-called entertainment expenses -- golf outings, cruises and concert tickets, although it left in place a 50% break for business meals. The rules out on Wednesday finalize implementation of the 2017 legislation, specifying how accountants should define client meals.

Bloomberg Tax • 4th February 2020

Nonprofits Face Headaches Under Income Reporting Rules

Nonprofits could soon get long-awaited guidance on the tax law’s change to reporting requirements for income they make from business unrelated to their core mission.

The 2017 overhaul said that nonprofits can no longer report unrelated business income—which is taxable—in one chunk. Instead, they have to separate out each flow of income, calculating and reporting things like ticket sales for football games, income on rental property, and profit from franchise agreements separately.