In this issue: Top 10 New York Tax Highlights for 2010; Equitable Recoupment Bars Deficiency, Not Refund; Interest Runs from Date of Original Return; New Forms for Tax Credit Deferral; and No Deduction for Embezzled Funds.

Excerpt from "Top 10 New York Tax Highlights for 2010":

Although we began publishing New York Tax Insights only two months ago, we at MoFo have been keeping an eye on important New York State and City developments throughout the past year. As we begin a new and exciting year, here is our own list of the top 10 New York tax highlights for 2010.

In what may be the most watched sales tax case not only in New York but throughout the United States, in November the Appellate Division, First Department, held that New York’s “Amazon” tax, which is actually a statutory presumption of in-state solicitation, and therefore a presumption of nexus for sales tax purposes, is not facially unconstitutional. Amazon.com, LLC v. New York State Dep’t of Taxation & Fin., et al., 2010 NY Slip Op. 7823 (1st Dep’t, Nov. 4, 2010). Although the Court remanded the case for further proceedings to determine whether the tax was unconstitutional “as applied,” Amazon filed a motion on December 6, 2010 seeking permission to appeal to the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court. Many observers believe that this groundbreaking case, which the First Department acknowledged has “far reaching ramifications,” will eventually be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.