“States and Towns Lean on Taxpayers” by Conor Dougherty, 9/26/09

Uniondale, September 26, 2009 — The article details the current trend by state and municipal governments of raising money by levying fees on consumers, local businesses with back taxes and tweaking tax laws. The article references Litigation Partner, Andrew E. Curto’s successful representation, on behalf of The Long Island Gasoline Retailers Association (LIGRA), to have a temporary restraining order of state-wide effect which permits tobacco retailers to file their tobacco registration forms by the September 20, 2009 deadline without having to comply with the new fee schedule set forth in amended Tax Law 480(a). The delayed implementation of the fee schedule allows for adjudication as to the constitutionality of the amended statute which imposes a dramatic increase in tobacco registration fees.

The new fee, which uses a sliding scale based on a retailer’s total sales, instead of just cigarette sales, “is essentially a tax,” said Andrew Curto.

For more information, please visit wsj.com

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