On April 14, 2021, the Oregon Tax Court issued a ruling on cross motions for summary judgment in a case involving the inclusion of receipts from commodity hedging activities in the taxpayer’s sales apportionment factor. Chevron filed amended Oregon corporation excise tax returns including its gross hedging receipts in its Oregon sales apportionment factor, and
apportionment
Illinois Tax Tribunal denies 80/20 exclusion
The Illinois Tax Tribunal issued an order denying PepsiCo Inc. and Affiliates’ (“PepsiCo”) motion for summary judgment and found that PepsiCo’s subsidiary, Frito-Lay North America, Inc. (“FLNA”), was not an excluded 80/20 company and must be include in the PepsiCo Illinois unitary group corporate income tax return.[1] As originally filed, PepsiCo excluded FNLA from…
New York Appellate Division holds compensation paid to both client facing and back office employees must be accounted for in computing NYC receipts factor
The New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, affirmed a New York City Tax Appeals Tribunal decision regarding the proper method for calculating a corporation’s receipts factor for General Corporation Tax purposes. The corporation offered a subscription-based service that allowed its clients access to experts and consultants in a broad variety of disciplines, and access…
Business (Income) As Usual: Minnesota Supreme Court Rules Gain From Sale of LLC is Apportionable Business Income
The Minnesota Supreme Court held that the gain from a corporation’s sale of its majority interest in a limited liability company (LLC) was apportionable business income subject to Minnesota corporate income tax. The Court explained that the corporation conducted its business through operating subsidiaries that were owned by the LLC, and that the corporation and…
California Court of Appeal Finds That Sourcing of Income for Individuals Applies to Trusts
The California Court of Appeal held that California income tax applies to the entire amount of trust income that is derived from California sources, even though a trust is managed in part by a non-resident trustee. The taxpayer had requested a refund on income taxes paid on capital gains, claiming that the income was incorrectly…
Pump the Brakes: North Carolina Supreme Court Determines that Brake-Pad Manufacturer Does Not Qualify for Special Apportionment Rule for Public Utilities
The North Carolina Supreme Court affirmed a lower court decision that held that a manufacturer of brake pads used by railroads did not qualify for an exception to the state’s standard three-factor apportionment formula that allows “public utilities” to instead apportion their income using a single-sales factor formula.
In February 2019, the North Carolina Superior…
How Does California Source Sales of Services and Intangibles for Apportionment Purposes?
California uses market-based sourcing to apportion sales of other than tangible personal property to the state. Under the governing statute, sales of services are sourced to California to the extent the purchaser of the service receives the benefit in the state.1 Sales of intangible personal property are sourced to California to the extent the…
Alabama Tax Tribunal Held that Payments to An Affiliate for Employee Services Not Included in Payroll Factor
The Alabama Tax Tribunal held that a taxpayer’s payments to an affiliated entity for employee services were not included in the payroll factor of the apportionment formula for business-income tax purposes because the payments were not made directly to the taxpayer’s employees.
During the years at issue, an Alabama regulation stated that only amounts paid…
Maine Takes a Jumbo Slice of Taxpayer’s $3.6 billion Frozen Pizza Business Sale
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court recently held that a taxpayer was not entitled to alternative apportionment for approximately $3 billion in gains earned from the sale of a business unit.
The taxpayer was a food and beverage manufacturer that sold its frozen pizza division in 2010 for $3.6 billion. The taxpayer took the position on…
Tennessee Court of Appeals Holds Legal Malpractice Settlement Proceeds are Taxable Business Earnings
The Tennessee Court of Appeals held that a manufacturer’s proceeds from a legal malpractice action are business earnings subject to the Tennessee excise tax. The malpractice action arose when the taxpayer’s attorneys improperly filed a European patent. The damages awarded in settlement of the claim were based on profits the taxpayer would have earned if…



