How a dog helped a new Dallasite win his tax case

I have a new Texas tax article over at The Dallas Morning News — it’s about a New York tax appeal case involving Match Group CEO Gregory Blatt.

Blatt moved to Dallas from NYC back in 2009 after becoming the CEO of Dallas-based dating site Match.com. Prior to that, he ran the legal department of Match’s parent company, IAC.

Blatt wasn’t so sure that Dallas would suit his lifestyle, so he negotiated this interesting arrangement where he would retain some of his IAC titles while essentially testing-out the Match position.

Like myself, Blatt fell in love with Dallas when he moved here and quickly called Texas home.

However, the New York tax authorities weren’t so sure — they assessed a $430,000 tax deficiency because they claimed that Blatt was still a NYC resident. A large part of New York’s case hinged on his ownership of a NYC condo that he was trying to sell.

The tax court eventually decided in Blatt’s favor because, among other things, he decided to move his elderly dog to Texas.

The entire opinion is worth a read. (PDF)  The details about life in Uptown Dallas are kind of amusing.

Postscript — it appears that Blatt moved back to NYC around 2013 after getting a promotion.

Photo: Brandon Day.