Oil Transporter Fails to Take Down Texas Tax Apportionment Rule

A company that transports and stores crude oil failed to convince a Texas appeals court Thursday that the comptroller improperly interpreted the state’s franchise tax law.

The comptroller rule on which business activities to apportion to the state adopted the “only reasonable construction” of the tax code by saying the place of delivery controls for apportionment purposes even when the buyer is located out of state, the Texas Third District Court of Appeals ruled.

“This statute is not ambiguous,” Chief Justice Darlene Byrne wrote for the court. “Under the plain and common meaning of this statutory language, whether a ...