Opinion ID: 1298687
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Unitary Business

Text: At a trial in September 2001, relators and the Commissioner presented evidence pertaining to the unitary business issue. The Commissioner argued that the operations of APC and AOC were unitary and offered evidence to show centralization of management by Amoco Corporation over both of the subsidiaries. Relators argued that Skelly Oil Co. v. Comm'r of Taxation, 269 Minn. 351, 131 N.W.2d 632 (1964), controlled and required the tax court to conclude that APC and AOC are not in a unitary relationship. In response, the Commissioner argued that the law has changed since Skelly and that the statutory definition of unitary business has evolved along with United States Supreme Court cases. The court concluded that APC and AOC were not of mutual benefit, dependent upon, or contributory to each other and therefore did not constitute a unitary business.