Stephen Kranz and Diann Smith said it would be “great” if the Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) undertook a proposed study on state reporting requirements after the IRS issues a revenue agent’s report (RAR), with Mr. Kranz calling it “exactly the type of project that taxpayers and revenue authorities can work on together.” Both lawyers said such a study should likely start by revisiting why more states haven’t adopted the MTC model.

Stephen Kranz and Diann Smith discussed the importance of trade associations and coalitions in forming state tax policy. “Most people fail to … understand that trade associations, coalitions, and individual companies can play an important role in influencing what revenue departments do, what legislative bodies do,” Mr. Kranz said. Ms. Smith agreed that “state trade associations are a great way for either single taxpayers — or, in many cases, even better, a coalition of taxpayers or taxpayer trade associations — to participate [in] coming forward with ideas …on some type of policy or legislative changes.”

Brooks Gruemmer, Samuel Wales, Krist Werling, Megan Rooney, Monica Wallace, Daniel Zucker, Maureen O’Brien, Jerry Sokol, Cole Parker, Lindsay Todnem and Emily Knurek were the McDermott lawyers who advised private equity-backed Surgery Center Holdings Inc. in completing its $792 million all-cash purchase of Nashville’s Symbion Holdings Corp.

David Cifrino (transaction lead partner), Bernard Kramer (client relationship partner), Daniel Zucker, Raymond Jacobsen, Elliot Smith and Zachary Swartz were the members of the McDermott team that advised Constellation Brands, Inc., a leading beverage alcohol company, in its concurrent notes issuances totaling $800 million. Read the full article.

Stephen Kranz and Diann Smith said it is most efficient for taxpayers if the Michigan courts address that state’s retroactive repeal of the Multistate Tax Compact rather than wait for future litigation. The retroactive repeal “implicates taxpayers who are not yet in litigation, and we would expect to see other lawsuits filed challenging the repeal by those taxpayers,” Mr. Kranz explained, while Ms. Smith added that “there are definitely issues with the Legislature trying to retroactively change an existing judgment specifically for the parties before the court.”

McDermott advised Colliers International on all aspects of purchasing a controlling stake in the AOS Group real estate consulting firm. Bertrand Delafaye, Jonathan Wohl, Nicolas Lafont, Kamal Naffi, Pauline Gaget, Noemie Fort, Germar Enders and Carsten Böhm advised Colliers International on corporate matters; Antoine Vergnat and Jules Bourboulon on tax aspects; and Jilali Maazouz, Myrtille Lapuelle and Ludovic Bergès on labor law.

Stephen Kranz and Diann Smith were noted as authors of a blog post questioning whether Michigan’s retroactive repeal of the Multistate Tax Compact to January 1, 2008, means the state participated in now-unauthorized interstate audits conducted on its behalf by the MTC in the intervening years. The post said that while the constitutional questions raised by Michigan’s repeal of the compact are important, “We think it is equally as important to consider whether the repeal compromises the validity of prior interstate audit assessments authorized pursuant to the Compact.”

Stephen Kranz and Diann Smith were among the “seasoned SALT veterans” who discussed state and local tax apportionment in this roundtable interview. Mr. Kranz said that given recent court decisions, “It’s open season on state tax apportionment … If there are no rules for the states, there are no rules for taxpayers; everyone should be looking at what is the position that’s most advantageous to them from a filing perspective.” Ms. Smith agreed, declaring “to the same extent that tax agencies seem to be making up their own rules as to what is considered income that is fairly attributable to the jurisdiction, taxpayers should have that same opportunity.”