Altria Fails to Undo $38 Million Income Tax Tied to InBev Equity

Altria Group Inc. is on the hook for $38 million in federal income taxes related to its investment in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV because it had sufficient control over the earnings of InBev’s other foreign subsidiaries’ earnings to warrant the liability, a federal trial court ruled.

The cigarette company’s 10.2% equity interest in InBev requires it to pay the tax on the income of certain of the beermaker’s foreign subsidiaries, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled Monday.

The dispute stems from the 2017 tax overhaul, which made includable income from those subsidiaries subject to taxes under ...