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David A. Hughes Chair | State and Local Tax Group
  • D 312.606.3212
  • F 312.267.2193
dhughes@hmblaw.com
David A. Hughes
"I’ve worked closely with Dave for over 15 years on a variety of state income tax matters involving roughly 15-20 states. Over the course of that time, I can attest that Dave’s subject matter knowledge, attention to detail, professionalism and creativity are unsurpassed! Best of all, Dave is a pleasure to work with." – Senior Tax Director

David is a partner at HMB and Chair of the firm’s State and Local Tax (SALT) Group. He helps clients limit their state and local tax exposure through sensible planning and, when necessary, vigorous litigation strategies.

David advises Fortune 500 companies, privately-held companies, middle-market businesses and individuals on strategies to minimize their state and local tax exposure, maintain compliance and reduce the risk of audit problems. This includes income tax, sales/use tax, franchise tax, gross receipts tax, and unclaimed property matters involving nexus, apportionment, business income, unitary business groups, credits, losses and exemptions.

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In addition to helping clients all over the country structure their businesses to reduce state and local tax liabilities, David represents them in audits, administrative proceedings, litigation and appeals. He has argued cases for clients at the Illinois Supreme Court, the Illinois Appellate Court and the New York Supreme Court (Appellate Division). In addition to Illinois, David is licensed to practice in Wisconsin.

Multistate Expertise, National Impact

David is as an adjunct professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law as well as a Fellow in the American College of Tax Counsel. As an active thought leader and speaker in the SALT community, David offers a unique perspective and knowledge drawn from years of hands-on, practical experience.

Experience

  • MeadWestvaco Corp. v. Illinois Department of Revenue, 128 S.Ct. 1498 (2008) (income tax on sale of non-unitary division)
  • Irwin Industrial Tool Co. v. Department of Revenue, 238 Ill2d 332, 938 NE2d 459, 345 Ill Dec 20 (2010)(use tax on airplane hangared outside the state)
  • Milwaukee Safeguard v. Selcke, 179 Ill 2d 94, 688 NE2d 68 , 227 Ill Dec 731 (1997) (constitutional challenge to insurance premiums tax)
  • Borden Chemicals and Plastics v. Zehnder,726 NE2d 73, 312 Ill App 3d 35 (2000) (income tax on non-resident limited partner)
  • Home Interiors & Gifts v. Illinois Department of Revenue,251 Ill Dec 820, 741 NE2d 998 (2000) (income tax on interest from non-working capital)
  • The Home Depot USA v. Hamer, Illinois Appellate Court unpublished order (2010) (sales tax bad debt deduction)
  • Ogden Chrysler Plymouth v. Bower,251 Ill Dec 820, 741 NE2d 998 (2004) (sales tax on car manufacturer incentive payments)
  • Exxon Corp. v. Bower,Illinois Appellate Court unpublished order (2004) (income tax on distributive share from non-resident partnerships)
  • Stark Materials Company v. Illinois Department of Revenue,812 NE2d 362, 349 Ill App 3d 316 (2004) (sales tax on delivery charges)
  • The Dow Chemical Company v. Illinois Department of Revenue,359 Ill App. 3d 1, 832 NE2d 284 , 295 Ill Dec 133 (2005) (unitary business group determination for income tax)
  • Nationwide General Insurance Company, et al. v. Shapo, 263 Ill Dec 210 , 767 NE2d 936 (4th Dist. 2002)(insurance premiums tax refunds for unconstitutional tax)
  • Nicor Corp. v. Illinois Department of Revenue, No. 1-07-1359 (Illinois Appellate Court, unpublished) (2008) (income tax on sale of subsidiary)

Education

  • Columbia University, J.D.
  • University of Notre Dame, B.A., magna cum laude

Admissions

  • Illinois
  • Wisconsin

Professional Memberships

  • Adjunct Professor, LLM Tax Program at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
  • American College of Tax Counsel, Fellow
  • Chicago Tax Club, Board of Directors and Chair, Indirect/Operational Tax Committee
  • American Bar Association, SALT Committee Vice Chair
  • Chicago Bar Association, former SALT Committee Chair
  • Illinois CPA Society, former SALT Committee Chair
  • Taxpayers Federation of Illinois (Sales/Use Tax and Local Taxes Committees)
  • Association of Consumer Vehicle Lessors (ACVL)
  • Unclaimed Property Professionals Organization (UPPO)
  • Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce

News

Events

Publications

blog

  • California Franchise Tax Board to Share Unclaimed Property Information with State ControllerJanuary 31, 2022

    Effective January 1, 2022, the California Franchise Tax Board (“FTB”) has the authority under Assembly Bill 466 to share information with the State Controller’s Office (“SCO”) relating to a taxpayer’s compliance with the California’s unclaimed property laws. To gather this information, the FTB has added a few questions to California’s business entity tax returns for tax year 2021, including whether…

  • Cover Your SaaS – Issue V, Q3 2021October 4, 2021

    As we move into harvest season, we here at Cover Your SaaS (CYS) have cultivated a fresh crop of updates for your enjoyment. Keen observers will note that there has been a somewhat larger gap than usual between newsletters and we admit, it has been a minute. Of course, absence makes the heart grow fonder so we are excited to…

  • Cover Your SaaS - Issue IVDecember 8, 2020

    With the holidays upon us, it seems like a good time to take a pleasant stroll through the cloud computing and digital product SALT developments you and your clients should be aware of. We returned to the “classic” format for this edition, organizing the stories by jurisdiction, headlining them in summary fashion, and then providing context and snappy analysis. If you have follow-up questions, please let us know.

  • Cover Your SAAS - Issue IIIAugust 18, 2020

    Welcome to the third edition of Cover Your SaaS. Following a brief mid-summer hiatus from which the authors returned pale as ever, we dive once more into the cloud computing and digital product SALT developments you and your clients should be aware of. This is a bumper edition, so we have organized the updates by general topic rather than solely by jurisdiction.

  • Cover Your SaaS - Issue IIJune 22, 2020

    Welcome to the second edition of Cover Your SaaS, your new favorite(ish) semi-regular publication from HMB Legal Counsel’s State & Local Tax team. Far from accepting a sophomore slump, this edition boldly delves into SALT developments in the digital products sphere, the importance of separately stating charges, and the dangers of straying into taxable telecommunications.

Education
  • Columbia University, J.D.
  • University of Notre Dame, B.A., magna cum laude
Admissions
  • Illinois
  • Wisconsin
500 West Madison Suite 3700
Chicago IL 60661

Phone: 312-606-3200 Fax: 312-606-3232
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