Skip to content

Thomas J. Kenny

Of Counsel
Novi
Thomas J. Kenny

Practice Areas

Education

Detroit College of Law
Detroit, Michigan
J.D.

Wayne State University
Detroit, Michigan
B.A., Mathematics

Bar Admissions

Michigan

Court Admissions

All Michigan state courts

Tax Attorney

Tom is a member of the Tax Practice Team. His practice includes civil and criminal tax litigation. Previously employed by the Department of Attorney General, Tom acted as legal counsel to the Department of Treasury in litigation matters before the Michigan Tax Tribunal, Court of Claims, Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. Prior to his employment with the Michigan Attorney General, he was an assistant prosecuting attorney in Detroit and handled criminal litigation and appeals.

Tom’s tax practice focuses on the representation of Fortune 1000 companies in State and Local Tax (SALT) litigation, which includes sales, use, corporate income, motor fuel, tobacco, real and personal property and Michigan Business Tax matters. He has represented clients before administrative agencies and courts in Michigan and around the country. The multistate representation includes tax cases in Indiana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

Experience

Tribal Tax

Counsel for the twelve federally recognized Michigan tribes in the negotiation of the Tribal-State of Michigan Tax Compact (December 2002)

South Dakota Tribal Taxation: Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Tribal Tax Seminar (South Dakota, 2006), instructor

Representative Tax Litigation

People v. Shami, 501 Mich. 243 (2018)

Keweenaw Bay Indian Community v. Department of Treasury, 322 Mich. App. 46 (2017)

Total Foundations v. Department of Treasury, Michigan Court of Appeals Docket No.: 322983 (2016)

General Motors Corporation v. Department of Treasury, Michigan Court of Appeals Docket No.:  303822 (2012)

William Davidson a/k/a Detroit Pistons Basketball Company v. Department of Treasury, Michigan Court of Appeals Docket No.: 308175 (2012)

Automotive Components Holding Company/Ford Motor Company v. Ypsilanti Township, Michigan Tax Tribunal Docket No.: 327618 (2010)

AutoAlliance International Inc. v. Department of Treasury, 282 Mich. App. 492 (2009)

Freightliner LLC v. Indiana Department of Revenue, Indiana Tax Court Case No.: 49T10-0611-TA-102 (2007)

UBS Financial Services (f/k/a PaineWebber) v. Ohio Department of Taxation, Ohio Board of Tax Appeals Docket No.: 2003-P-1139 (2005)

Compuware Corporation v. Department of Treasury, Michigan Tax Tribunal Docket No.: 303847 (2005)

Elsheick v. Department of Treasury, 225 Mich. App. 575 (1997)

Lindsey Anderson Sagar Trust v. Department of Treasury, 204 Mich. App. 128 (1994)

Caterpillar v. Department of Treasury, 440 Mich. 400 (1992), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 1014 (1992) (Amicus Curiae)

J.C. Penney v. Department of Treasury, 171 Mich. App. 30 (1988)

Honeywell, Inc. v. Department of Treasury, 167 Mich. App. 446 (1988)

Kelser v. Department of Treasury, 167 Mich. App. 18 (1988)

Professional Affiliations

American Bar Association

State Bar of Michigan: Taxation Section, State and Local Tax Committee, chair,  2000 – 2002; Council member, 2002 – 2005

Sign up to be the first to access our leading legal insights.

The link you have selected will redirect you to a third-party website located on another server. We are offering the link for your convenience. Varnum has no responsibility for any external websites and makes no express or implied warranties about any external websites.

Please be aware that contacting us via e-mail does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and the firm. Do not send confidential information to the firm until you have spoken with one of our attorneys and receive authorization to send such materials.