Minnesota Supreme Court Upholds Alternative Apportionment for DuPont’s Franchise Taxes

The Minnesota Supreme Court issued a decision affirming the tax court’s judgment that the Commissioner of Revenue correctly applied an alternative apportionment method for E.I. duPont de Nemours and Company’s corporate franchise taxes. The dispute centered on how to apportion receipts from forward exchange contract (FEC) transactions, which DuPont used as a hedging technique to protect against foreign currency exchange risks. The court agreed that including gross receipts from FEC transactions in the general apportionment formula would not fairly reflect DuPont’s business activities in Minnesota, as FEC transactions were qualitatively different from DuPont’s main business and their inclusion would create ...