Blank Rome State + Local Tax (“SALT”) partners Nicole L. Johnson, Craig B. Fields, and Eugene J. Gibilaro will serve as panelists at the Council on State Taxation’s (“COST”) 2025 Spring Conference / Audit Session, being held April 28 through May 1, 2025, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Blank Rome is pleased to be a Diamond Sponsor of the Conference.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
This Spring Conference/Audit Session will bring multistate tax professionals, with various levels of experience in state and local income/franchise taxes and sales/use taxes together in an environment that allows for extensive interaction and exchange of information as well as updates on key SALT issues and insights regarding state tax trends and opportunities. The program is targeted to all levels of experience and no advance preparation is needed.
SESSION INFORMATION
Nicole Johnson: “Business Purpose and Economic Substance Principles Are in Focus Once Again”
Tuesday, April 29, from 10:15 to 11:10 a.m.
Recent litigation has demonstrated that the business purpose and economic substance doctrines remain necessary for a valid non-tax avoidance transaction. In this session, the speakers will discuss why it’s important to show, using all the facts and details of a transaction’s planning and execution, why the transaction fulfilled a business purpose and had economic substance.
Craig Fields: “Key Apportionment Issues”
Tuesday, April 29, from 11:15 a.m. to 12:05 p.m.
Do you focus on the computation of the apportionment formula’s denominators? How are special industry apportionment formulas used when a filing group consists of more than one industry? Do you know the elements of fair apportionment? In this session the presenters will focus on these three key apportionment concepts: (1) the critical elements of the apportionment formula denominator; (2) the issues encountered using special industry apportionment methods; and (3) the elements of fair apportionment in the market-based sourcing world.
Eugene Gibilaro: “Apportionment of Foreign Source Income”
Wednesday, April 30, from 1:10 to 2:00 p.m.
The push to impose additional taxes on Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (“GILTI”), foreign dividends, and Subpart F income has raised significant apportionment challenges. What is fair apportionment when foreign source income is included in the tax base? This session will delve into how to ascertain if the statutory apportionment method provides an accurate reflection of the state income tax base. It will also address strategies for developing reasonable alternative apportionment methods and the data required to substantiate such an alternative approach.
For more information and to register, please visit the event webpage.
