Bruce Ely Quoted in Law360 Tax Authority on NJ Partnership Filing Fee
April, 2022 - Birmingham, Alabama
Bradley partner Bruce Ely was quoted in Law360 Tax Authority on a recent filing fee legislation.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a company's allegations that New Jersey's partnership filing fee violates the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause by not offering multistate businesses an ability to apportion the levy.
Ely told Law360 he was surprised the justices passed on the case after asking New Jersey to respond to the petition. He added that he hopes the denial won't spur a proliferation of similar state levies on businesses, echoing concerns that Ferrellgas and other business groups raised to the court.
In an amicus brief, the Energy Infrastructure Council, a trade association for energy infrastructure companies, argued the fee's structure violated the so-called internal consistency test because if every state adopted similar charges, Ferrellgas would pay $12.5 million in fees while an entity doing business in one state would pay $250,000.
"I just hope that other states don't take this non-ruling ruling as a message that they can replicate this sort of 'fee' on pass-through entities doing business in their states," Ely said.
The original article, “Justices Pass On Challenge To NJ Partnership Filing Fee,” appeared in Law360 Tax Authority on April 4, 2022.
