Opinion ID: 1876539
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: factual summary of taxpayer's activities in minnesota

Text: We turn to the facts as found by the trial court and as sustained by the evidence. For the convenience of its salesmen and customers, the taxpayer rents and maintains in Minneapolis an office which is used to some extent as a central office and serves as a clearinghouse for orders and complaints. A full-time secretary is employed in this office; two telephone lines are maintained; and it is listed in both telephone (alphabetical and classified indexes) and city directories. One of the district representatives is in charge of this office and, with the taxpayer's knowledge, holds himself out as district manager. In addition to office equipment, goodwill advertising and other material, taxpayer owns the automobiles driven by its Minnesota salesmen. Taxpayer employs five sales representatives in Minnesota, two of whom work out of the Minneapolis office. The salesmen regularly and systematically solicit orders from eligible purchasers  building supply dealers, ready-mix operators, and large contractors. In addition, the salesmen regularly and systematically contact potential customers and users of cement products (inclusive of architects and building and road contractors) to induce them to buy from taxpayer's established local outlets and dealers, promote goodwill and furnish advertising materials to customers, entertain customers, and occasionally receive and forward complaints. The flow of taxpayer's products into Minnesota constitutes about 48 percent of its sales volume. All taxpayer's Minnesota employees are hired by supervisory personnel from its Mason City office, and no Minnesota employee has authority to hire or fire. Salesmen's territories are assigned by the Mason City office, and vacation schedules are established there. All orders are subject to acceptance by the office in Mason City, and credit extensions and collections are handled there, the salesmen having no authority to accept orders or extend credit. The price of taxpayer's cement products is the delivered price to the customer, the sum of the base price plus the freight plus the package. Accordingly, the products are invoiced f.o.b. destination. Freight is prepaid by the taxpayer, and in no case can the customer purchase cement from taxpayer except at a delivered price nor, since taxpayer has no facilities for loading trucks, can the customer pick up cement at taxpayer's plant. Quotations giving both base and delivered price are sent directly to the customer from the Mason City office. Although the salesmen have no authority to give the customer a quotation, they do carry a rate book from which they regularly compute the delivered price to the customer without a quotation. On the request of one of taxpayer's dealers, quotations for specific projects are sent from Mason City to the contractor. Such a quotation cites the dealer's price (f.o.b. dealer's warehouse) to the contractor.