Pipeline Use Tax Case Jumps Straight to Mississippi Top Court

The Mississippi Department of Revenue convinced the state’s top court to allow its case over use taxes on freight charges to bypass the intermediate appeals court.

The department asked the high court in April to overturn a 2023 chancery court ruling freeing Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. from use tax obligations on the shipping charges on certain goods because they were part of a separate transaction with a third party, not the seller.

• The state argued the freight fees were part of the taxable “purchase or sales price,” as defined by state law
• The company disagreed, arguing the chancery court ...