On Monday, Feb. 12, 2024, Taft attorneys Jeremy A. Hayden, Philip D. Williamson, and Javan A. Kline filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce in support of Appellant, Aramark Corporation, in a case pending before the Supreme Court of Ohio (Aramark Corporation v. Patricia Harris, Tax Commissioner of Ohio, Case No. 2023-1540).

At issue in this case is the application of the agency exclusion under the Ohio Commercial Activity Tax (CAT) and whether amounts Aramark receives from its clients under management fee contracts are excluded from taxation under the CAT. Ohio’s CAT applies to the gross revenues of a business with few exclusions. Of those exclusions, the agency exclusion ensures that taxpayers are not taxed on conduit or flow-through receipts – such as amounts an owner pays to a general contractor that is then paid to subcontractors or a title agent that receives funds to pay off a mortgage of a home seller.

Founded in 1893, the Ohio Chamber is Ohio’s largest and most diverse statewide business advocacy organization, representing businesses ranging from sole proprietorships to some of the largest U.S. companies.

Jeremy Hayden is a partner in Taft’s Cincinnati office. He advises clients on matters relating to corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, state and local tax law, and estate and succession planning. Representative clients have included businesses ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.

Philip Williamson is a partner in Taft’s Cincinnati office. He litigates complex matters in state and federal courts. He has briefed appeals in multiple U.S. Courts of Appeals, including the Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits, as well as state appellate courts in Ohio, Kentucky, and Georgia. Williamson has also represented amici at both the cert petition and merits stages in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Javan Kline is an attorney in Taft’s Cincinnati office. He advises clients on various federal, state, and local tax matters, including income tax, corporate tax, partnership tax, S Corporation tax, and tax-exempt matters. Kline advises clients on tax considerations in various business contexts, including entity formations, ownership structures, restructurings, business succession, mergers & acquisitions, and business exits.