Pennsylvania Court Ends Attorney General, Revenue Agency Tax Spat

Johnson & Johnson’s Synthes unit will receive a $2.1 million corporate tax refund, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday, ending a multiyear public dispute between the state Department of Revenue and the Attorney General’s Office.

The court rejected the attorney general’s appeal of the refund and interpretation of a tax law to side with the Department of Revenue and Synthes USA HQ Inc. over how to resolve the way the company sourced its corporate net income for the 2011 tax year.

Associate Justice Christine Donohue said in the majority opinion that in the appeals process the Attorney General’s Office ...