"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 in HMB’s State and Local Tax (SALT) Group and is a member of HMB’s Board of Directors. 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.
Read MoreIn 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
As an active thought leader and speaker in the SALT community, as well as an adjunct professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, 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- The Home Depot USA v. Hamer, Illinois Appellate Court unpublished order (2010) (sales tax bad debt deduction)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
- Chicago Bar Association’s State and Local Taxation Committee, Former Chair
- Chicago Tax Club, Chair, Indirect/Operational Tax Committee
- Illinois CPA Society, former SALT Committee Chair
- American Bar Association
- Association of Consumer Vehicle Lessors (ACVL)
- Unclaimed Property Professionals Organization (UPPO)
- Adjunct Professor, LLM Tax Program at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
News
- David A. Hughes Discusses Chicago's "Netflix Tax" with Bloomberg Law TaxJanuary 25, 2021
In this article by Bloomberg Law Tax, David A. Hughes discusses Chicago's "Netflix Tax". Read the full article here. Chicago will inject an economic presence standard and a safe harbor for smaller streaming and cloud services into its administration of the city’s “Netflix tax,” beginning July 1. Chicago’s Department of Finance issued a bulletin late Thursday outlining its enforcement of the amusement…
- David A. Hughes Discusses Chicago's "Netflix Tax" with Bloomberg Law TaxJanuary 25, 2021
In this article by Bloomberg Law Tax, David A. Hughes discusses Chicago's "Netflix Tax". Read the full article here. Chicago will inject an economic presence standard and a safe harbor for smaller streaming and cloud services into its administration of the city’s “Netflix tax,” beginning July 1. Chicago’s Department of Finance issued a bulletin late Thursday outlining its enforcement of the amusement…
- David A. Hughes Discusses Illinois Nonresident Workers and State Income Tax with Law360June 29, 2020
In an article by Daniel Tay and published by Law360, David A. Hughes discusses how Illinois nonresident employees have received a 30-day safe harbor against state income tax to carry out a 2019 law intended to prevent double taxation. Illinois' 30-day threshold is longer than the periods seen in other states David told Law360. He also noted that the Illinois…
- David A. Hughes Provides Insight on Illinois Supreme Court's Refusal to Hear Streaming Tax Challenge To State Tax NotesMarch 27, 2020
An article published by State Tax Notes discusses the Illinois Supreme Court's refusal to review an appellate court decision that Chicago's amusement tax as applied to online streaming services does not violate the state constitution or the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA). The court denied the petition for leave to appeal in Labell v. City of Chicago, letting stand the…
- David A. Hughes discusses the Unveiling of Illinois' 30-Day Income Tax with Law360January 13, 2020
Illinois seeks to establish a 30-day safe harbor against state income tax for nonresident employees under a recently proposed regulation that specifies how workers should calculate their number of days worked in the state. In an article by Law360, David Hughes explains how different this proposed rule is when compared to previous regulations, noting that previous regulations on taxing nonresident…
Events
- David A. Hughes Discusses "Change of Residency & the Illinois Fair Tax" with the Simply Tax PodcastNovember 11, 2020
David A. Hughes participated in the Simply Tax Podcast hosted by BKD’s Damien Martin to discuss the Illinois Fair Tax amendment and potential residency ramifications. David discussed what all the fuss is about over the Fair Tax amendment and what Illinois taxpayers need to consider if they want to change their state of residency if the amendment passes. The episode…
- David A. Hughes and Samantha K. Breslow Present a Webinar - "SALT Update 2020 Edition - Ramifications of the CARES Act and So Much More" for the AGN Fall Symposium - 10/22/20October 16, 2020
10/22/20 12:00PM CT The COVID pandemic has dominated the 2020 headlines. Congress responded to the pandemic by adopting the CARES Act, a federal law that also has significant SALT ramifications. States responded by modifying their nexus and withholding rules for employees working from home. Join David A. Hughes and Samantha K. Breslow for this session where they will explore those…
- David A. Hughes Presents a Webinar - "Outrageous Cases: A Review of Recent SALT Cases That Defy Logic" - for the Chicago Tax Club - 10/30/20October 15, 2020
10/30/20 12:30PM - 1:45PM CT The Chicago Tax Club’s Fall Learning Series continues with a 75 minute webinar on Outrageous Cases, an in depth and entertaining discussion of recent state and local tax cases that defy logic and make you scratch your head. Join David A. Hughes with Ted Bots and Drew Hemmings from Baker McKenzie and Keith Staats from…
- David A. Hughes Presents a Webinar - "Emerging Lease Tax Trends in 2020: Legal Update" for Vertex Exchange - 10/8/20September 30, 2020
10/8/20 1:05PM - 1:45PM ET David A. Hughes will be leading a discussion regarding lease tax law updates and trends in 2020 on 10/8/20. Learn more about Vertex Exchange here. …
- David A. Hughes, Samantha K. Breslow and Dakota S. Newton Present Various Topics at the ICPAS Summit20 - 8/26/20August 18, 2020
8/26/2020 Residency and Other State Income Tax Issues for Individuals - David A. Hughes and Dakota S. Newton 10:50AM - 11:40AM CT With the increase in flow-through entities, individual income tax issues are becoming more complex to navigate. Explore critical issues including credits for tax paid to other states, taxation of nonresident individuals, and income tax on the sale of…
blog
- 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.
- Cover Your SaaS: A Semi-Regular Publication on State and Local Tax Developments in the Cloud Computing and Digital Space - 4/10/20April 10, 2020
Welcome to the first edition of Cover Your SaaS, a new semi-regular publication from HMB Legal Counsel’s State & Local Tax team. Using the latest in news-scanning technology, i.e., the daily emails that land in our inbox, our goal is to keep you updated on key SALT developments in the digital and cloud computing space.
- To Deduct or Not Deduct: The Illinois Personal Service Income ConundrumJanuary 17, 2018
On December 11, 2017, the Illinois Department of Revenue (?Department?) issued proposed regulations that seek to clarify the scope of the deduction by setting forth specific rules and hypothetical examples. Nevertheless, even with the proposed regulations, the deduction is beset by ambiguities that will continue to create confusion for taxpayers currently under audit or who intend to claim the deduction in future years.
