Bradley Partner Bruce Ely Quoted in Bloomberg BNA on Appeal of Tax Assessment by Prepaid Wireless Seller

State and Local Tax (SALT) attorney Bruce Ely was quoted in Bloomberg BNA on a new ruling involving an Alabama seller of prepaid wireless service who lost its latest appeal of a sales tax assessment. Atheer Wireless LLC v. State Dep’t of Revenue calls into question the state legislature’s ability to make a tax law retroactive by describing it as a clarification of existing law.

Ely explained, however, that the case’s more direct impact could be on the procedure of tax assessment appeals. In this case, the Court of Civil Appeals found taxpayers appealing Alabama Tax Tribunal decisions to a state circuit court, as Atheer did, can only expect the circuit court to hear the issues previously raised at the tax tribunal level. Ely helped author the legislation that created the tax tribunal and serves on Bloomberg BNA’s State Tax Advisory Board.

“If this ruling goes final, it should be a wake-up call to taxpayers—and more so their CPAs and attorneys who handle appeals before the Alabama Tax Tribunal,” Ely said.

The complete article, “Prepaid Wireless Seller to Appeal Alabama Tax Loss,” appeared in Bloomberg BNA on November 18, 2016. (login required)