State and Local Taxation

Our Tax Group has vast experience in all aspects of New York City and New York State taxes, including state and city real property transfer tax and residency issues. We have appeared before both the city and the state tax appeals tribunals.

We are recognized for having achieved very favorable results in an often-cited residency case and New York City real property transfer tax case. The outcome in both of these cases was very taxpayer-friendly. The residence case helped define a “permanent place of abode,” which is a key component of determining New York residency. The real property transfer tax case made clear that non-contiguous apartments can, in the proper circumstances, be taxed as a single residence for purposes of the real property transfer tax rules, which results in the application of lower tax rates.

• Structured a like-kind exchange of several pieces of real estate owned by a partnership to allow a family to divide their property without paying income taxes. Paying taxes would have made the settlement of this matter much more difficult for the family members.
• Structured the first-time U.S. operations of an Italian clothing manufacturer and retailer.
• Successfully represented a person who works in New York City before the New York State Division of Tax Appeals in establishing he was not a New York City resident. This resulted in a savings in taxes and interest of over $1,000,000.
• Structured the tax provisions of an operating agreement for a nursing home operator that allowed him to receive a significant interest in the property without paying current taxes.
• Designed a Phantom Stock Plan for a key employee of a construction company. This allowed the employee to benefit significantly if the value of the company increased, while allowing the owner to maintain 100 percent legal ownership.