The week in state tax news: State tax administrators are taking a closer look at the metaverse, concerned they may be missing tax revenue from platforms brokering sales of virtual products and services. Meanwhile, some members of Congress are getting serious about boosting the so-called SALT cap, and a state appeals court ruled California can’t punish cities for imposing soda taxes.

Kentucky will replace a property tax on bourbon aging in barrels with a property tax on bonded bourbon warehouses under a bill signed by Gov. Andy Beshear (D) on Friday.

A cryptocurrency creator and his wife can’t keep their tax refund lawsuit alive by refusing to accept or cash the IRS’s refund check, the Justice Department told an appeals court.

Tech giants, grappling with a post-pandemic slowdown, have already laid off tens of thousands of workers. Now they’re dumping millions of square feet of office space, pushing vacancies in city centers to record highs and ratcheting up pressure on the commercial real estate industry. San Francisco, Seattle and New York City are bearing the brunt of the pullback. While New York City can count on office demand from financial services and legal firms, tech-centric San Francisco has no such cushion. Seattle business groups, meanwhile, are calling for a tax holiday to keep tenants downtown.

Our Spotlight series highlights the careers and lives of tax professionals around the world. This week’s Spotlight is on Brian Weaver, a partner at Stinson LLP who heads the firm’s tax credit and impact finance practice group in St. Louis.

Advocates for a proposed Oakland Athletics downtown baseball stadium project won the backing of California appeals judges Thursday who rejected arguments that an environmental report was deficient.

This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, an ungodly stench of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. Sign up here .