State & Local Tax Services.
Comprehensive California state and local tax counsel — sales and use tax, property tax, income and franchise tax, residency, and local business taxes.
Fennemore’s state and local tax practice takes a comprehensive approach to California tax matters. Our attorneys have practiced on both sides of these issues — the team includes a former sales and use tax auditor and the founder of a CPA firm’s state and local tax practice.
Based in the Sacramento region, we work close to the state capital and its tax agencies and appear before them frequently. Our attorneys have been recognized by Spidell’s California Taxletter and have contributed hundreds of articles on state and local tax issues locally, statewide, and nationally. CPAs and other professionals regularly call on us to help with their clients’ California tax matters — now backed by the resources of a full-service national firm.
What We Handle.
Sales & Use Tax.
Advisory and controversy work across California sales and use tax.
- Sales and use tax advisory services — aircraft and boat purchases, common carrier rules, construction contractor rules, and leasing rules
- Use tax collection obligations
- Letter rulings
- Petitions for redetermination and appeals before the State Board of Equalization (BOE)
Property Tax.
Planning to manage reassessment risk, and representation in assessment appeals.
- Reassessment-risk planning and reporting — long-term leases, change of ownership and control, and exemption qualification
- Administrative representation before County Assessor property transfer units
- Assessment reviews and appeals before county Assessment Appeals Boards
- Proposition 13 (change in ownership and control)
- PProposition 58 (parent-child transfers) and Proposition 60 (over-55 base-year transfers)
- Proposition 8 (decline-in-value reductions)
- Exemption claims for land development, multifamily, commercial, industrial, and special-use properties
Income, Franchise & Local Taxes.
California income and franchise tax, residency, and city-level business taxes.
- Personal income tax — deductions, withholding, income reporting, nominee income, hobby loss claims, penalty abatement, and abusive tax shelter defense
- Corporate franchise tax — withholding, business/nonbusiness income allocation, and unitary taxation / water’s-edge issues
- California residency planning and representation before the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) and the State Board of Equalization (BOE)
- Worker classification (employee vs. independent contractor), including representation before the California Labor Commissioner and the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (CUIAB)
- City business license taxes (gross receipts and payroll) — Los Angeles, San Francisco, Culver City, and Oakland — including allocation and apportionment, private rulings, audits, and appeals
- Documentary transfer tax
- Opinion of counsel letters and private letter rulings across property, sales/use, income, and city business tax
Attorneys With This Experience.
You May Also Need.
Federal Tax Services.
Federal income tax planning, compliance, and IRS controversy work.
Partnership, Corporate & Special Entity Tax.
Tax planning for partnerships, LLCs, and corporations.
Real Estate Tax.
Tax planning across acquisition, development, and sale of real estate.
Nonprofit & Tax-Exempt.
Tax services and full nonprofit practice for exempt organizations.
Estate & Gift Tax.
Federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax planning.