Medtronic Wants Cardiac Monitors to Avoid California Sales Tax

Medtronic USA Inc. told a California appeals court Friday that implanted devices used to detect irregular heartbeats are exempt from sales tax because they qualify as medicine under state law.

Medtronic said its implantable cardiac monitors meet all the conditions under California’s tax code and a separate regulation that grant a sales tax exemption. The ICMs are FDA approved to diagnose or treat irregular heartbeats, are implanted into the body, pinpoint ailing heart sections, and assist in the function of an organ—satisfying the exemption requirements, Medtronic’s brief said.

The company was assessed about $1.3 million dollars in sales tax with ...