Massachusetts Appeals Court Affirms Denial of Abatement of Corporate Excise Tax Assessments

The Massachusetts Appeals Court Jan. 27 affirmed the Appellate Tax Board’s decision upholding a refusal by the Commissioner of Revenue to abate Taxpayer’s corporate excise tax assessments. Taxpayer had a commercial domicile in Massachusetts and designed, manufactured, and sold power converters. Taxpayer argued that the appeals board erred by concluding that Taxpayer’s litigation proceeds from a successful patent infringement lawsuit were attributable to Massachusetts for purposes of determining taxable net income. On review, the appeals court noted: 1) the net income statute doesn’t contemplate an exclusive list of income-producing activities; 2) there was no error in the appeals board’s refusal ...