Aramark’s Ohio Tax Bill Defense Fails to Sway State Justices (1)

Aramark Corp. lost its bid for a $908,000 refund of Ohio commercial activity tax after the state’s top court decided Wednesday the food services company didn’t show it acts on behalf of its clients.

“Even if Aramark was acting as an agent when it purchased goods and services for its management-fee clients, it was acting on behalf of itself when it received reimbursements from its clients for those purchases,” Justice Megan E. Shanahan wrote for the 5-2 Ohio Supreme Court.

The ruling clarifies the definition of “agent” for purposes of the exclusion from CAT, emphasizing that to qualify, the person ...