Minnesota High Court Finds Uline Owes Taxes For Market Research

Uline Inc. doesn’t qualify for federal immunity that would exempt the shipping and packing supplies seller from state income or corporate franchise tax, because market research the company conducted in Minnesota didn’t exclusively solicit sales, the state high court said Wednesday.

Uline had “good reason” to conduct the market research whether the company had a sales team or not, thus failing the test for immunity eligibility set by the US Supreme Court in Wis. Dep’t of Revenue v. William Wrigley Jr. Co., Justice Anne K. McKeig said.

The market research also wasn’t de minimis, meaning the activity wasn’t trivial ...