The Texas Comptroller determined that a taxpayer was required to include in its sales factor numerator its receipts from sales of bunker fuel oil to foreign ships in Texas ports. The taxpayer argued that the sales were not from “business done” in Texas even though the oil was delivered to ships in Texas ports. The
apportionment
New Jersey Tax Court Rejects Division’s Interpretation of Regulation Regarding “Regular Place of Business” and Permits Apportionment
The New Jersey Tax Court ruled that a corporation was entitled to apportion its corporate income based on a “regular place of business” outside of New Jersey. This now-repealed apportionment requirement was the source of several New Jersey Tax Court cases. For tax years beginning before July 1, 2010, N.J. Rev. Stat. § 54:10A-6 provided…
Washington Sources ATM Card Processor’s Receipts to the Location of its Customers’ Business Activities for B&O Tax
The Washington Department of Revenue Appeals Division ruled that for B&O apportionment purposes under the “services and other activities” tax classification, an out-of-state automated teller machine (ATM) card transaction processor’s receipts are properly sourced to the location of its financial institution customers’ ATM transaction activities. The Appeals Division found that location to be the location…
New Jersey Tax Court Rejects Alternative Apportionment Formula
The New Jersey Tax Court rejected the Division of Taxation’s application of a five-factor alternative apportionment formula as invalid rulemaking under New Jersey’s Administrative Procedures Act (APA). The Tax Court previously determined that an application of the statutory apportionment formula in effect prior to 2011 for companies without a “regular place of business” outside New…
New Mexico Administrative Hearings Office Rejects Department’s Attempt to Eliminate Payroll Factor from Apportionment Factor Calculation
The State of New Mexico Administrative Hearings Office held that the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department could not remove the payroll factor from the apportionment factor calculation of a taxpayer in the credit card and personal lending business. The Hearings Office determined that “the party seeking to depart from the proscribed apportionment method,” which,…
New Jersey Tax Court Upholds Division’s Use of 25/50/25 Sourcing Rule
The New Jersey Tax Court upheld the New Jersey Division of Taxation’s use of the 25/50/25 sourcing rule for “certain services” against a provider of mass messaging services by fax, email and voice. Specifically, the court upheld the Division’s determination of a 76% receipts factor, which consisted of 25% for all transactions originating in New…
Minnesota Supreme Court Upholds Commissioner’s Use of Alternative Apportionment for Financial Institution
The Minnesota Supreme Court held that the state’s standard apportionment method did not fairly reflect the taxpayer’s net income allocable to the state, reversing the Tax Court’s ruling. The taxpayer, a national financial institution, transferred its loan portfolios to two newly formed partnerships. For apportionment purposes, Minnesota requires financial institutions to include loan interest in…
Giving Credit Where It Isn’t Due: Arkansas Office of Hearings and Appeals Treats Sales of Tax Credits as Business Income
On June 13, 2018, an Arkansas Administrative Law Judge concluded that a taxpayer’s proceeds from dispositions of tax credits were apportionable business income. In Arkansas, business income arises from either: (1) transactions and activity in the regular course of the taxpayer’s business (the transactional test); or (2) income from the acquisition, management and disposition of…
Indiana Enacts IRC Conformity Bill, Decouples from Certain Federal Tax Reform Provisions
On May 14, 2018, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb signed into law H.B 1316 (the Bill). The Bill provides a number of changes to Indiana’s tax laws, including responding to provisions of the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Some notable provisions of the Bill include:
- updating Indiana’s conformity to the Internal Revenue Code from January
…
Oregon Deems Amendments to Statutory State Apportionment Formulas to Be Constitutional
In another of the so-called “Compact” cases, the Oregon Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Oregon Tax Court and held that: (1) the 1967 Oregon Legislature, in enacting Oregon Statute Section 305.655, did not clearly and unmistakably intend for Oregon to enter into a binding contract that would bind the states under the Oregon…



