Law firms doing business in multiple states face numerous state and local tax challenges. They must comply with each state's unique tax system and understand the manner in which each state's revenue department administers that state's tax law. Questions they face include: Where should they start when computing their state tax base? What should be included in the tax base computation for each state? To help address these questions and more, Ernst & Young LLP has developed a quarterly webcast seminar series that provides a deep dive into specific topics of state taxation. Our intention is to present a series of one-hour webcasts that are educational in nature, with less of a focus on policy or other current topics. Our second income tax seminar in this series will address issues related to intercompany transactions and discretionary authority in determining a company's tax base.

Law firm clients should plan to attend Seminar #2, "Issues related to intercompany transactions and discretionary authority in determining a company's tax base," in which panelists will provide an overview of intercompany transactions, including a focus on specific state addbacks for federal taxable income in determining a taxpayer's state tax base and an in-depth analysis of the newly finalized Section 385 regulations and their effects on state taxation. The panelists also will discuss the concept of discretionary authority and how it affects the computation of a company's tax base in particular states. Finally, they will address elements of the debate on federal income tax reform and discuss how those elements may affect the state tax base in various states. Seminar #2 will be held on Thursday, February 9, 2017 at 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. EST; register here. (Click here to access the replay of Seminar #1, "Issues with federal and state 'disconnects,' including IRC conformity.") For further details, see Tax Alert 2017-162.

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