Siding with the utility taxpayer, the Appellate Court of Maryland (Court) issued a decision granting Potomac Edison Company (Potomac), a Maryland electric utility company, a $2.4M sales tax refund. The Court held that Potomac’s process of transporting electricity from a power plant to the final customer constituted a “production activity” and was qualified for a sales tax exemption under Maryland law.

The Connecticut Supreme Court (Court) recently expressed criticism for the City of Danbury (City) during oral arguments regarding untimely filed property tax appraisals in a pending appeal. Several property owners, whose property assessments range from $1.5M to $2.8M, are defending the lower court’s decision to hear their appeals based on a Connecticut statute, which states: “If [the] appraisal is not timely filed, the court may dismiss the application” (emphasis added). While the property owners argue that the language of the statute gives the lower court discretion to hear untimely filed appeals, the City asserts that the statute demands a mandatory dismissal.

Albeit the most significant vote on this year’s election day ballot was the choice for President of the United States, numerous consequential statutory amendments and propositions having a direct impact on state tax constructs were also included on ballots. Taxpayers across the country voted on ballot initiatives that would amend state constitutions and alter tax impositions in their state, approving some while denying others.

The Cleveland Browns Football Company, LLC (the Browns) recently brought suit against the City of Cleveland (the City) over a state law that restricts the Browns from moving their NFL team out of the tax-supported Huntington Bank Field (HBF) in downtown Cleveland. The Browns currently play home games at HBF, but plan to move to a new stadium after the expiration of their lease agreement in 2029.

Spoiler Alert: no upcharge. A Missouri Circuit Court judge recently granted motions for summary judgment submitted by Netflix, Hulu, DirecTV and Dish Network, agreeing that the companies’ streaming services are excluded from state franchise fees.

Alleging the company is fraudulently advertising service fees as sales tax, a class action complaint was filed in U.S. District Court, Central District of California against Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (Chipotle). Suit was brought against the fast casual Mexican restaurant for representing to its customers that they are paying higher than usual amounts of sales tax, when they are actually paying sales tax plus “Chipotle’s eye-popping service fees.”