SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT
for the Commonwealth
for the Commonwealth
Case Docket
VAS HOLDINGS & INVESTMENTS LLC vs. COMMISSIONER OF REVENUE
SJC-13139
CASE HEADER
Case Status
Decided, Rescript issued
Status Date
07/01/2022
Nature
Taxation
Entry Date
06/30/2021
Appellant
Plaintiff
Case Type
Civil
Brief Status
Brief Due
Quorum
Budd, C.J., Gaziano, Lowy, Cypher, Kafker, Wendlandt, Georges, Jr., JJ.
Argued Date
01/05/2022
Decision Date
05/16/2022
AC/SJ Number
2021-P-0359
Citation
489 Mass. 669
DAR/FAR Number
DAR-28258
Lower Ct Number
C332269; C332270
Lower Court
Appellate Tax Board
Lower Ct Judge
Route to SJC
Direct Appellate Review
PARTY / ATTORNEY
INVOLVED PARTY
ATTORNEY APPEARANCE
VAS Holdings & Investments LLC
Plaintiff/Appellant
Blue br, app & reply br filed
1 Enl, 30 Days
Plaintiff/Appellant
Blue br, app & reply br filed
1 Enl, 30 Days
Commissioner of Revenue
Defendant/Appellee
Red brief filed
2 Enls, 50 Days
Defendant/Appellee
Red brief filed
2 Enls, 50 Days
Multistate Tax Commission
Amicus
Amicus
Bruce J. Fort,
Pro Hac Vice Attorney
American College of Tax Counsel
Amicus
Amicus
DOCUMENTS
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Appellant VAS Holdings and Investments LLC Brief
-
Appellee Commissioner of Revenue Substitute Brief
-
Appellant VAS Holdings and Investments LLC Reply Brief
-
Amicus Multistate Tax Commission Brief
-
Amicus American College of Tax Counsel Brief
-
Appellant VAS Holdings and Investments LLC Response Brief
-
Appellee Commissioner of Revenue Supplemental Brief
-
Appellant VAS Holdings and Investments LLC Supplemental Brief
DOCKET ENTRIES
| Entry Date | Paper | Entry Text |
| 06/30/2021 | #1 | Entered. |
| 07/08/2021 | #2 | Motion to extend to date for filing of appellant's brief filed for VAS Holdings & Investments, LLC by Attorney Michael Bowen. (ALLOWED to August 20, 2021.) |
| 07/30/2021 | #3 | NOTICE of November argument sent. |
| 08/13/2021 | #4 | ORDERED for argument on November 3. |
| 08/20/2021 | #5 | Appellant brief filed for VAS Holdings & Investments, LLC by Attorney Michael Bowen. |
| 08/20/2021 | #6 | Appendix Vol. 1 filed for VAS Holdings & Investments, LLC by Attorney Michael Bowen. |
| 08/20/2021 | #7 | Appendix Vol. 2 filed for VAS Holdings & Investments, LLC by Attorney Michael Bowen. |
| 08/20/2021 | #8 | Appendix Vol. 3 filed for VAS Holdings & Investments, LLC by Attorney Michael Bowen. |
| 08/20/2021 | #9 | Appendix Vol. 4 filed for VAS Holdings & Investments, LLC by Attorney Michael Bowen. |
| 08/23/2021 | The clerk's office has received the appellant's brief and record appendices through e-fileMA. The brief has been accepted for filing and entered on the docket. The appellant shall file with the clerk 4 copies of the brief and 3 copies of each record appendix within 5 days. The clerk's office may require additional copies if necessary. | |
| 09/09/2021 | #10 | Motion to extend to date for filing of appellee's brief filed for Commissioner of Revenue by Attorney Brett Goldberg. (ALLOWED to October 12, 2021.) |
| 09/20/2021 | #11 | Unopposed Motion to reschedule oral argument filed for VAS Holdings & Investments, LLC by Attorney Michael Bowen. |
| 09/22/2021 | #12 | ORDER: The Order setting this case for argument on November 3, 2021 is VACATED. This matter shall be rescheduled for the January 2022 sitting of the court. By the Court. |
| 09/22/2021 | #13 | NOTICE of January argument sent. |
| 09/27/2021 | #14 | Motion to extend to date for filing of appellee's brief filed for Commissioner of Revenue by Attorney Brett Goldberg. (ALLOWED to November 9, 2021.) |
| 10/04/2021 | #15 | Unopposed Motion to Proceed Pro Hac Vice (re: Attorney Bruce J. Fort) filed for Multistate Tax Commission by Attorney Jeffrey Ogilvie. (ALLOWED) |
| 10/07/2021 | #16 | ORDERED for argument on January 5. |
| 11/10/2021 | #17 | Appellee brief filed for Commissioner of Revenue by Attorney Brett Goldberg. (Note: Substitute brief filed on November 10, 2021. See paper #18.) |
| 11/10/2021 | The clerk's office has received the appellee's brief through e-fileMA. The brief has been accepted for filing and entered on the docket. The appellee shall file with the clerk 4 copies of the brief within 5 days. The clerk's office may require additional copies if necessary. (Note: Cover of appellee's brief shall be red.) (Substitute brief filed on November 10, 2021.) | |
| 11/10/2021 | #18 | Substitute Appellee brief filed for Commissioner of Revenue by Attorney Brett Goldberg. |
| 11/10/2021 | #19 | Motion to file substitute brief filed for Commissioner of Revenue by Attorney Brett Goldberg. (ALLOWED) |
| 11/10/2021 | The clerk's office has received the appellee's substitute brief through e-fileMA. The brief has been accepted for filing and entered on the docket. The appellee shall file with the clerk 4 copies of the brief within 5 days. The clerk's office may require additional copies if necessary. (Note: Cover of appellee's brief shall be red.) | |
| 11/12/2021 | #20 | Additional 4 copies of appellee's substitute brief filed by Commissioner of Revenue. |
| 11/18/2021 | #21 | Motion to extend to date for filing of appellant's reply brief filed for VAS Holdings & Investments, LLC by Attorney Michael Bowen. (ALLOWED to December 8, 2021.) |
| 12/08/2021 | #22 | Reply brief filed for VAS Holdings & Investments, LLC by Attorney Michael Bowen. |
| 12/09/2021 | The clerk's office has received the appellant's reply brief through e-fileMA. The brief has been accepted for filing and entered on the docket. The appellant shall file with the clerk 4 copies of the brief within 5 days. The clerk's office may require additional copies if necessary. (Note: Cover of reply brief shall be gray.) (12/29/21: Paper copies are not filed. Second notice sent.) | |
| 12/14/2021 | #23 | Amicus brief filed for Multistate Tax Commission by Attorney Bruce J. Fort. |
| 12/14/2021 | #24 | Motion to File Amicus Brief filed for Multistate Tax Commission by Attorney Bruce J. Fort. (Referred to the Quorum) |
| 12/14/2021 | The clerk's office has received the amicus brief filed for Multistate Tax Commission through e-fileMA. The brief has been accepted for filing and entered on the docket. Four copies of the brief shall be filed with the clerk's office within 5 days. The clerk's office may require additional copies if necessary. | |
| 12/15/2021 | #25 | Amicus brief filed for American College of Tax Counsel by Attorney Richard Jones, Attorney David J. Nagle, Attorney Caroline A. Kupiec |
| 12/15/2021 | #26 | Motion to File Amicus Brief filed for American College of Tax Counsel by Attorney Richard Jones. (Referred to the Quorum) |
| 12/16/2021 | The clerk's office has received the amicus brief through e-fileMA. The brief has been accepted for filing and entered on the docket. The amicus curiae (American College of Tax Counsel) shall file with the clerk 4 copies of the brief within 5 days. The clerk's office may require additional copies if necessary. (Note: Cover of amicus brief shall be green.) | |
| 12/20/2021 | #27 | Additional 4 copies of amicus brief filed by American College of Tax Counsel. |
| 12/23/2021 | #28 | Additional 4 copies of amicus brief filed by Multistate Tax Commission. |
| 12/27/2021 | #29 | Response to brief of amicus curiae Multistate Tax Commission brief filed for VAS Holdings & Investments, LLC by Attorney Michael Bowen. |
| 12/27/2021 | #30 | Motion to file response brief to amicus Multistate Tax Commission brief filed for VAS Holdings & Investments, LLC by Attorney Michael Bowen. (Referred to the Quorum) |
| 12/31/2021 | #31 | Additional 3 copies of appellant's reply brief filed by VAS Holdings & Investments, LLC. |
| 01/05/2022 | Oral argument held. (Budd, C.J., Gaziano, J., Lowy, J., Cypher, J., Kafker, J., Wendlandt, J., Georges, Jr., J.).
View Webcast
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| 01/10/2022 | #32 | POST-ARGUMENT LETTER from filed for Commissioner of Revenue by Attorney Brett Goldberg. (Note: Corrected post-argument letter was filed on January 11, 2022. See paper #33.) |
| 01/11/2022 | #33 | CORRECTED POST-ARGUMENT LETTER from filed for Commissioner of Revenue by Attorney Brett Goldberg. |
| 03/23/2022 | #34 | ORDER: Within ten business days of this order, the parties are directed to file supplemental briefs, of no longer than five, double spaced pages, addressing the following questions: 1. What specific statutes, including identification of specific statutory provisions, are relied upon by the Commissioner for the authority to tax the capital gain realized by VAS Holdings based on the investee's connection to Massachusetts? Include in your answers how the statutes referenced in the Agreed Statement of Facts (Record Appendix Vol. I, p. 15, para. 16) work together to authorize the investee approach. Also include in your explanation how the decision in Commissioner of Revenue v. Dupee, 423 Mass. 617 (1996), holding that an individual who realizes a capital gain from the sale of its share of a Massachusetts entity is not taxable on the capital gain under G. L. c. 62, § 5A, affects the analysis, addressing the effect, if any, of amendments to § 5A adopted since the issuance of the decision in Dupee. 2. Does Massachusetts have any specific statute comparable to Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 5747.212, N.Y. City Admin. Code § 11-604(3)(a), or New York's Tax Law § 210(3) (repealed), expressly authorizing the investee approach adopted by the Commissioner and approved by the Board? 3. If the answer to question 2 is "no" and to the extent not included in answer to question 1, explain in detail what provision of each statute identified in question 1 authorizes the investee approach asserted by the Commissioner. 4. Has VAS Holdings waived any objection to the statutory authority to the investee approach? |
| 04/01/2022 | #35 | Motion to exceed the page limit of supplemental brief filed for Commissioner of Revenue by Attorney Brett Goldberg. |
| 04/01/2022 | #36 | Response and Opposition to Motion to exceed the page limit filed for VAS Holdings & Investments, LLC by Attorney Michael Bowen. |
| 04/01/2022 | #37 | ORDER: The requests of the parties to enlarge to eight double-spaced pages are ALLOWED. |
| 04/06/2022 | #38 | Supplemental Appellee brief filed for Commissioner of Revenue by Attorney Brett Goldberg. |
| 04/06/2022 | The clerk's office has received the supplemental appellee's brief through e-fileMA. The brief has been accepted for filing and entered on the docket. The appellee shall file with the clerk 4 copies of the brief within 5 days. The clerk's office may require additional copies if necessary. (Note: Cover of appellee's brief shall be red.) | |
| 04/06/2022 | #39 | Supplemental Appellant brief filed for VAS Holdings & Investments, LLC by Attorney Michael Bowen. |
| 04/06/2022 | The clerk's office has received the supplemental appellant's brief through e-fileMA. The brief has been accepted for filing and entered on the docket. The appellant shall file with the clerk 4 copies of the brief within 5 days. The clerk's office may require additional copies if necessary. (Note: Cover of appellant's brief shall be blue.) | |
| 04/08/2022 | #40 | Additional 4 copies of supplemental appellant's brief filed by VAS Holdings & Investments, LLC. |
| 04/11/2022 | #41 | Additional 4 copies of supplemental appellee's brief filed by Commissioner of Revenue. |
| 04/13/2022 | #42 | Supplemental Citation filed for Commissioner of Revenue by Attorney Brett Goldberg. |
| 05/16/2022 | #43 | RESCRIPT (Full Opinion): The decision of the Appellate Tax Board is reversed. (By the Court) |
| 05/20/2022 | #44 | Motion to file a motion for reconsideration late filed for Commissioner of Revenue by Attorney Andrew O'Meara. (Allowed to June 13, 2022). |
| 06/10/2022 | #45 | There has been a request to obtain copies of appendices in this matter. It appears that some of the appendices may contain some personal identifying information (See SJC Rules 1:15 and 1:24). Within five business days, the appellant is to provide the court with redacted copies of pleadings, where applicable, or a letter informing the court that the pleadings filed in this matter do not need redaction. |
| 06/13/2022 | #46 | Motion for Reconsideration or Modification filed for Commissioner of Revenue by Attorney Brett Goldberg. |
| 06/13/2022 | #47 | CORRECTED Motion for Reconsideration or Modification filed for Commissioner of Revenue by Attorney Brett Goldberg. (Note: PDF bookmarks corrected) |
| 06/30/2022 | #48 | Copy of revised opinion sent to the parties. See Revisions for the Massachusetts Reports at https://www.mass.gov/service-details/opinion-revisions. |
| 06/30/2022 | #49 | DENIAL of Motion for Reconsideration or Modification. (By the Court). |
| 07/01/2022 | RESCRIPT ISSUED to trial court. |