On May 22, 2017, the US Supreme Court denied certiorari for six taxpayers¹ that were appealing the Michigan Court of Appeals ruling upholding the constitutionality of the retroactive repeal of the Multistate Tax Compact (Compact). The Compact included a provision that allowed a taxpayer to elect to use the Compact's equally weighted three-factor apportionment formula to determine certain Michigan tax liabilities. The result of the US Supreme Court's denial is that the Michigan Appellate Court's ruling stands and effectively brings this tax matter to a close.

Implications

This decision brings an end to the long saga of the Compact cases in Michigan. With the US Supreme Court decision, taxpayers have no other courses of appeal action to consider. Taxpayers likely can expect to see the Michigan Department of Treasury move to have their cases dismissed and appeals withdrawn.

For additional details on the MTC election please see tax alerts Tax Alerts 2016-1178 and 2015-2006.

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ENDNOTES

¹ IBM Corp. v. Mich. Dept. of Treasury, petition for cert. denied, Dkt. No. 16-698 (U.S. S. Ct. May 22, 2017); Gllette Commercial Operations North America and Subs. v. Mich, Dept. of Treasury, petition for cert. denied, Dkt No. 16-697 (US S. Ct. May 22, 2017); Sonoco Products Co. v. Dept. of Treasury, petition for cert. denied, Dkt. No. 16-687 (US S. Ct. May 22, 2017); Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Mich. Dept. of Treasury, petition for cert. denied, Dkt. No. 16-699 (U.S. S. Ct. May 22, 2017); Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP v. Mich. Dept. of Treasury., petition for cert. denied, Dkt. No. 16-688 (U.S. S. Ct. May 22, 2017); DIRECTV Group Holdings, LLC v. Mich. Dept. of Treasury, petition for cert. denied, Dkt. 16-763 (U.S. S. Ct. May 22, 2017).