Kay Linn Miller Hobart

Partner

kayhobart@parkerpoe.com

Raleigh | 919.835.4597

Fax | 919.834.6546

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Kay Miller Hobart has more than 25 years of experience in state tax controversy matters and tax litigation at all levels of state and federal court. As the former lead tax counsel for the State of North Carolina, she has litigated numerous high profile, complex multimillion-dollar cases before the North Carolina Business Court, Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, including the landmark decisions in A&F Trademark v. Tolson and Wal-Mart Stores East v. Hinton.

"She provides superlative client service,” one of Kay’s clients told Chambers USA, which develops rankings using in-depth interviews and objective research. “She has an excellent legal mind, and offers practical and effective solutions. She responds quickly and efficiently, and deeply understands the legal, political and business landscape."

Kay has been asked to serve on various commissions to modernize and reform North Carolina's tax system, including the Governor's Commission to Modernize State Finances and former Governor Jim Hunt's Institute for Emerging Issues Financing the Future task force. She is a frequent speaker at national seminars on state and local taxation, including Georgetown University Law Center's Advanced State and Local Tax Institute and Vanderbilt University Law School's Paul J. Hartman State and Local Tax Forum. She has also served as North Carolina correspondent for State Tax Notes and is a frequent contributor to Bloomberg Tax.

Prior to joining Parker Poe, she served as special deputy attorney general for the North Carolina Department of Justice, leading the team of attorneys representing the state’s Department of Revenue. In that role, she gained extensive experience with all major tax schedules and the operations and practices of the North Carolina Department of Revenue. She has participated in the development and drafting of the state’s tax legislation and advised the Revenue Secretary and high-level state officials on matters of tax law and policy. She is admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court.

Representative Experience

Served as lead counsel in A&F Trademark, Inc. v. Tolson, a landmark decision that established the standards governing nexus in North Carolina and enabled the state to collect approximately $300 million in previously unpaid corporate taxes. At the conclusion of this case, the Raleigh News & Observer honored her work by naming her its “Tar Heel of the Week.”
Served as lead counsel in Wal-Mart Stores East v. Hinton and Delhaize America, Inc. v. Lay, which determined the parameters of the Revenue Secretary’s ability to equitably adjust a taxpayer’s filing methodology to require combination.
Served as sole counsel in the series of cases beginning with Polaroid Corp. v. Offerman that established the definition of business income for North Carolina corporate income tax purposes.
Coley v. State – Successfully defended against a $62 million potential class action challenging a mid-year individual income tax increase as an unconstitutional retrospective tax under the North Carolina Constitution.
Deadwood, Inc. v. N.C. Dep’t of Revenue – Successfully defended the differential classification of entertainment for privilege tax purposes against claim that it violated the uniformity provisions of the North Carolina Constitution.
DirecTV, Inc. v. State – Successfully defended a $72 million sales tax case against a challenge that the legislative system for taxing cable and satellite television violated the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution.
Philip Morris USA v. Tolson – Successfully represented the state in a $30 million corporate income tax case involving an alternative apportionment formula.
Navistar Financial Corp. v. Tolson – Successfully defended the interpretation and application of the privilege tax against claims it violated the Due Process and Commerce Clauses of the United States Constitution.
Central Telephone I and II – Successfully defended a $9 million corporate income tax case against claims that dismissal of taxpayer’s petitions for review violated the Due Process Clause.
Morton Buildings, Inc. v. Tolson – Successfully defended the interpretation of the use tax as applying to building materials purchased outside the state and used in North Carolina.
Proposed Assessments of Additional Sales and Use Tax v. Jefferson-Pilot Insurance Co. – Successfully defended against claim that insurance companies who paid gross premiums tax were exempt from local use tax.
American Woodland Industries, Inc. v. Tolson – Successfully defended against a potential class action challenging the excise tax on timber deeds.
BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc. v. N.C. Dep’t of Revenue – Successfully defended case involving a corporation’s ability to carryover net economic losses following a merger.

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Honors & Awards

The Best Lawyers in America in Tax Law, 2019-2024
Business North Carolina magazine's "Legal Elite" in Tax, 2022, 2024
Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers in Tax, 2020-2023
Raleigh News & Observer’s Tar Heel of the Week, 2005
Governor’s Award for Excellence and Outstanding State Government Service, 2005

Memberships

Governor's Commission to Modernize State Finances
Institute for Emerging Issues: Financing the Future Task Force

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