Tractor Supply Wrongly Filed Separate South Carolina Tax Returns

Tractor Supply Co. owes South Carolina an additional $1.4 million in corporate income taxes, plus interest, after a state judge ruled Tuesday that the company improperly shifted income among subsidiaries to reduce its tax liability.

Parent company Tractor Supply and subsidiaries Tractor Supply Co. of Michigan LLC and Tractor Supply Co. of Texas LP were part of a unitary group that should have filed combined tax returns, the South Carolina Administrative Law Court held.

“While no method of apportionment is perfect, I find that combined unitary reporting has the benefit of removing the unreliable transfer price(s) in this case ...