Delta Air Wins, PacifiCorp Loses Oregon Intangibles Tax Case

Delta Air Lines Inc. convinced the Oregon Tax Court that a state law taxing its use of intangible property while exempting the use of such property in road transportation businesses is unconstitutional.

However, genuine differences between PacifiCorp‘s use of intangible property in its business as a regulated public entity and exempt uses in non-regulated businesses justify disparate tax treatment, Judge Robert T. Manicke ruled Wednesday in consolidated cases.

“The legislature may, without running afoul of the Uniformity Clauses, subject otherwise identical property to different tax treatment based on a difference in use,” the court said.

In Oregon, utility property ...