Georgia Supreme Court Upholds Mandatory Apportionment for Local Occupation Taxes
The Georgia Supreme Court denied the City of Atlanta’s petition for review of a case relating to the Occupation Tax. The tax is imposed on the Georgia gross receipts of any business with a location within City limits. In June, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed that Georgia’s occupation tax statutes (O.C.G.A. 48-13-14) permit the City of Atlanta to only tax a portion of multi-state businesses’ Georgia receipts. The City of Atlanta unsuccessfully argued that it was entitled to tax 100% of a business’s Georgia gross receipts, irrespective of the activities at the business’s Atlanta office. Now that the Court of Appeals’ decision is final, taxpayers have a strong refund position if they previously paid Atlanta occupation tax on their unapportioned Georgia gross receipts. Prospectively, taxpayers should carefully consider their gross receipt apportionment for all occupation tax purposes (City of Atlanta and others) and documenting such apportionment.
Authored by Alla Raykin
Picture Credit: “Atlanta,Georgia,downtown skyline,dusk” by tableatny is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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