Skechers Urges Wisconsin Justices to Review $1 Million Tax Bill

Skechers USA Inc. asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court provide direction on how to handle the “strong sword” that the sham transaction doctrine gives the state revenue department to wield against taxpayers.

The footwear maker wants the justices to overturn a June appeals court ruling that Skechers’ decision to hand over its intellectual property to a holding company was done solely for the sake of tax avoidance.

The case provides the justices with its first chance to outline the scope of that century-old doctrine which generally looks to business purpose and economic substance to determine whether to disregard certain corporate transactions ...