The Bradley Arant Boult Cummings State and Local Tax (SALT) Practice Team provides a full range of services focused on state and local tax issues. We partner with our clients to develop solutions tailored specifically for their unique business and tax objectives. Our team of seasoned legal professionals have spent their careers developing the real-world experience, knowledge of state and local tax laws, and professional relationships to better serve clients in this complex and rapidly changing area of practice.
The Bradley Arant Boult Cummings State and Local Tax (SALT) Practice Team provides a full range of services focused on state and local tax issues. We partner with our clients to develop solutions tailored specifically for their unique business and tax objectives. Our team of seasoned legal professionals have spent their careers developing the real-world experience, knowledge of state and local tax laws, and professional relationships to better serve clients in this complex and rapidly changing area of practice.
Our SALT practice team serves a diverse client base, ranging from start-ups and emerging organizations to regional businesses and national and international publicly-traded companies. Some of the primary industries we represent are health care; construction; financial services; insurance; and technology; automotive; food services; lodging; retail; real estate; entertainment; energy/natural resources; transportation; restaurant and printing. The services we provide include business transaction advice; general state and local tax planning and consulting; business incentives and related exemptions and grants; governmental affairs (including drafting or reviewing legislative proposals and lobbying); and tax controversy/litigation and voluntary compliance negotiations.
General SALT Planning & Consulting Services
The increasingly aggressive enforcement of state and local tax laws by various taxing authorities, and in some cases, their private contractors, combined with the increasing complexity of the tax laws has elevated the importance of state and local tax planning and compliance for all business entities. We regularly assist clients with:
- Corporate and individual income taxes
- Franchise and excise taxes
- Financial institution excise taxes
- Business privilege taxes
- Sales and use taxes
- Utilities gross receipts and license taxes
- Insurance premium/license taxes
- Rental (lease) taxes
- Real and personal property ad valorem taxes
- Business license taxes
- Natural resource severance taxes
- Lubricant and motor fuel excise taxes
- Lodgings taxes
- Unemployment taxes
- Tax credits, exemptions and incentives
Formation, Expansion, and Conversion of Business Entities
We advise clients with respect to forming, expanding, and converting all forms of business organizations. Our team has significant experience consulting with clients on the complex business and tax considerations involved in structuring a new or expanding business venture, or transitioning from one form of business entity to another. We take into consideration not only the applicable state business and taxation statutes (many of which our members either co-authored or edited during the legislative process), but also the overall strategic goals of our clients to ensure that the structure chosen is a proper fit. The SALT team regularly advises clients with respect to the formation, expansion, sale, and conversion of the following business entities:
- C corporations
- S corporations
- General and limited partnerships
- Limited liability companies
- Limited liability partnerships and limited liability limited partnerships
- Joint ventures
- Business (statutory) trusts
- Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
- Asset protection trusts
Mergers, Acquisitions, and Dispositions
Together with the firm’s Corporate and Private Equity/Emerging Business Practice Groups the SALT team counsels clients regarding the purchase, sale, merger, and reorganization of businesses. We understand that taxable and tax-free acquisitions and dispositions must be structured to reflect the type of business and assets being acquired or disposed of, the consideration paid, the tax attributes of the acquiring and/or the acquired company, and most importantly, the business objectives of our client. In certain transactions, we may seek a private letter ruling from the IRS or a state taxing authority regarding the federal or state tax consequences of the transaction.
Business Incentives and Tax Credits
The SALT team regularly works with our Economic Development Practice Team in advising clients on the various state and local tax and financial benefits associated with expansion, relocation, research, hiring, and other business expenditures. For businesses, the tax and financial benefits from these investments are often significant. Depending on the state or locality involved, this may include capital/investment tax credits, income, franchise and sales tax credits and exemptions, abatements of property taxes, sales and use taxes, and/or mortgage recording taxes, Alabama Enterprise Zone Act incentives, and incentive grants or rebates from counties and municipalities. We also work closely with the Alabama Industrial Development Training (AIDT) Program, which is consistently ranked as one of the top worker training programs in the country.
As an example of our longstanding experience in this area, the firm played a key role in developing and in later refining the Alabama Capital Credits Act, which comprised a major part of the incentives package used to successfully induce Mercedes-Benz to locate its first U.S. manufacturing plant near Birmingham, Alabama, and which continues to be a major incentive for new or expanding industries.
Our Nashville office focuses on credits and other incentives available to Tennessee businesses, including the Green Energy Supply Chain Manufacturer credits, the jobs tax credit, headquarters relocation credits and exemptions, as well as property tax abatements and tax increment financing (or TIF).
We also assist clients with respect to retaining or expanding tax and financial incentives they are currently receiving, but that are no longer available for new projects and investments or that they may be in danger of forfeiting due to adverse economic conditions.
Tax Controversy/Litigation
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings has an extensive state and local tax controversy and litigation practice, representing clients in all industries. Members of the SALT team represent clients before state and local revenue authorities, and assist with tax or business license audits, administrative appeals, and in voluntary compliance projects. Our experienced SALT team prosecutes tax protests and appeals in administrative tribunals, and before courts at all levels, both state and federal, including the United States Supreme Court. In trial and appellate court litigation, we combine the technical expertise of our tax attorneys with the skills and experience of our trial attorneys and members of our Appellate Litigation Practice Group. The latter group includes attorneys who have argued dozens of cases before the various state and federal appeals courts, and have served as Solicitor General for the State of Alabama or as law clerks to U.S. Supreme Court justices, U.S. Court of Appeals judges, Alabama Supreme Court justices and federal district court and U.S. Tax Court judges.
List of Representative Clients/Experience
- B.L. Harbert International, L.L.C.
- Brasfield & Gorrie, L.L.C.
- Bridgestone Americas, Inc.
- Chevron Mining, Inc.
- Comcast
- Community Health Systems
- Charter Communications
- Eaton Corp.
- EBSCO Industries, Inc.
- Energen Resources Corp.
- HealthSouth Corporation
- Hemlock Semiconductor, L.L.C.
- Hilton Worldwide
- Hunt Refining Company
- J. Crew Group, Inc.
- Level 3 Communications, Inc.
- Macy’s, Inc.
- Microsoft Corporation
- Nestle Holdings, Inc.
- Nissan North America, Inc.
- Sodexo, Inc.
- St Thomas Hospital
- The Home Depot
- Vulcan Materials Company