American Spirit Maker Asks Justices to Eye Oregon Tax Ruling

The US economy will suffer if the US Supreme Court doesn’t provide a definitive rule on when federal law immunizes businesses from state income taxes, a British American Tobacco PLC subsidiary warned the court in a petition for review.

Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co. wants the justices to review a June Oregon Supreme Court ruling that the company’s sales activities in the state exceeded federal safe harbor provisions under Public Law 86-272. That’s a 1959 federal law that prohibits states from imposing income taxes on out-of-state businesses if their only activity within the state is soliciting sales of tangible ...