Representative Experience
- Successfully represented global Fortune 50 technology company in groundbreaking California appellate case involving taxation of foreign dividends and interest expense deductions in a water’s-edge setting.
- Won $100 million refund for Fortune 50 bank on the issue of whether gross receipts of an out-of-state broker-dealer subsidiary should be included in the bank’s sales factor for apportionment purposes.
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- Corporate franchise and income taxes
- For a large multinational bank, we recently settled a major California income tax case, obtaining refunds and credits of approximately $135 million and abating assessments of nearly $3 million, resulting in an overall benefit to the company of $138 million.
- Won lead entertainment industry case before the Indiana Tax Court challenging the Department of Revenue’s controversial use of an audience factor in apportioning income.
- Secured withdrawal of $49 million corporate income/franchise tax assessment for a global Fortune 50 conglomerate by arguing our client was owed a refund of $20 million.
- Defeated a $13 million assessment of tax and interest in a unitary combination case for one of the country’s largest automotive retailers.
- Successfully represented global Fortune 50 pharmaceutical manufacturer by resolving tax disputes totaling over $100 million, spanning 12 years and arising from unitary combination, characterization of income, apportionment and credit utilization issues.
- Advised Fortune 50 telecommunications company at all stages of California tax controversy, from audit, to administrative protest and appeal, to litigation through appellate courts, in matters involving assessments totaling over $250 million.
- Handled appeal for an international fashion brand successfully arguing that interest expense incurred to fund a leveraged buyout was non-business wholly allocable to California, the state of commercial domicile.
- Achieved New Jersey tax court victory for Fortune 100 bank in leading interest addback challenge.
- Obtained $50 million refund for California-based clothing company in a California unitary tax dispute regarding whether it should be able to deduct 100 percent of its leveraged buyout transaction interest expenses.
- Represented well-known cable TV network in settlement sparing $21 million in taxes, interest and penalties, in lead entertainment industry case in Indiana challenging DOR’s controversial use of the audience factor.
- Represented Fortune Global 20 client in a California corporate franchise tax case. Obtained some $143.5 million in refunds and reversal of $276.4 million tax, interest and potential penalty assessments.
- Saved $80 million for two multinational corporations in an FTB dispute involving complex unitary, business/nonbusiness income, apportionment, water’s edge combined report, interest expense, add-back and dividend issues.
- Achieved victory for one of California’s most prominent entertainment companies in contentious income tax dispute regarding its claims of California R&D credits, worth more than $4 million to the client.
- Saved well over $25 million in taxes, penalties and interest for major audio technology company in an FTB protest. At stake was sourcing of royalties for sales factor purposes.
- Sales and use taxes
- Successfully represented leading online lending marketplace operator against the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, Division of Taxation, in a dispute over whether the operator’s services are subject to sales tax as information services.
- Secured sales tax refunds in excess of $40 million for a Fortune 50 telecommunications company on claims involving technology transfer agreements post-Lucent.
- Achieved victories before Oregon Tax Court and Oregon Supreme Court on the sourcing of sales of electricity and natural gas for apportionment purposes for a foreign-based energy wholesaler.
- Represented a solar energy company in the lead sales and use tax case before the CA Board of Equalization. Case involved the taxability of solar incentives and involved potential liabilities of $10 million+.
- Acted for a solar energy company in obtaining an administrative decision worth some $2 million in a California sales and use tax case involving the taxability of solar energy systems.
- Real and personal property taxes
- Secured victory before the California Court of Appeal for a Fortune 50 medical device company confirming that embedded software is not subject to property taxation even when it is bundled or prepackaged with computer hardware.
- Won an issue of first impression at the California Court of Appeal confirming that California property tax law does not require a centrally assessed taxpayer to sue all counties in which it owns property to maintain a refund action.
- Developed a new standardized valuation table to assess a Fortune 100 television provider’s leased equipment throughout California, bringing uniformity and predictability to the client’s assessments and considerable tax refunds.
- Achieved a California Court of Appeal ruling in favor of a large telecommunications client, entitling it to reopen the value of all real property at its audited locations.
- Advised a major technology company throughout the design and construction of a new headquarters building in Silicon Valley. Achieved a favorable post-completion assessment based on fair market value rather than the considerable construction costs.
- Obtained a superior court writ of mandate for a high-end luxury resort owner, directing the Assessment Appeals Board to grant a new valuation hearing. Convinced the superior court to reject an assessor’s valuation of an owner of a mixed-use office and R&D campus. The proper method of appraisal resulted in substantial tax refunds.
- Successfully appealed to exclude the value of software from the assessment on a Fortune 100 company’s cutting-edge networking technology equipment.
- Pursued a refund action for a large gas-tank distributor and on the eve of trial entered into a joint stipulation for dismissal, refund and eligibility for the business inventory exemption. The Exemption was adopted in other counties.
- Challenged the Assessment Appeals Board’s finding of a 10 percent economic rent in valuing a national cable television operator’s possessory interest. Convinced the superior court that the evidence did not support the Board’s finding.
- Achieved proper assessment of possessory interests (i.e., leasehold interests) for a major stevedoring company in various port properties and delivered reductions in value for our client largely without the assistance of an expert and without the need for a contested hearing.
- Successfully appealed to exclude the value of software from the assessment on a Fortune 100 company’s cutting-edge networking equipment.
- Won an issue of first interpretation before the California Court of Appeal for a Fortune 50 telecommunications company, confirming that California property tax law does not require a centrally assessed taxpayer to sue all counties in which it owns property to maintain a refund action.
- Personal income taxes
- Represented a high-net-worth individual in major California personal income tax case involving residency and sourcing issues, completely abating proposed assessment of approximately $10 million.
- Successfully reduced personal income tax assessments of $37 million by 90 percent at the protest level in California residency case.
- Other SALT taxes and issues
- Defeated $22 million attempt by city and county to impose unprecedented transfer tax on The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, following its transfer of certain properties between two church corporations.