Associated Bank, N.A. v. Comm'r of Revenue

914 N.W.2d 394
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedJuly 5, 2018
DocketA17-0923
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 914 N.W.2d 394 (Associated Bank, N.A. v. Comm'r of Revenue) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Associated Bank, N.A. v. Comm'r of Revenue, 914 N.W.2d 394 (Mich. 2018).

Opinion

CHUTICH, Justice.

In this appeal, we consider whether the Commissioner of Revenue ("the Commissioner") properly invoked her alternative-apportionment authority under Minnesota Statutes section 290.20, subdivision 1 (2016), and if so, what burden the Commissioner bears when using that authority. Respondents Associated Bank, N.A., and its affiliates ("the Bank"), which include the members of two Wisconsin limited liability companies (LLCs), objected to the Commissioner's assessment of additional state corporate franchise tax liability for tax years 2007 and 2008. Although the Bank correctly calculated the tax owed based on the relevant statutes for apportioning income to Minnesota, the Commissioner concluded that the method used did not "fairly reflect" the Bank's income from Minnesota sources under section 290.20, subdivision 1. Accordingly, the Commissioner invoked her authority under section 290.20, subdivision 1, and applied an alternative apportionment method that she contends fairly reflects the Bank's income allocable to Minnesota.

After exhausting its administrative remedies, the Bank appealed to the tax court, arguing that the Commissioner improperly invoked her authority under section 290.20, subdivision 1. Relying on our decision in HMN Financial, Inc. v. Commissioner of Revenue , 782 N.W.2d 558 (Minn. 2010), the tax court agreed with the Bank and reversed the Commissioner's order. Because we conclude that HMN Financial is not dispositive and that the Legislature plainly gave the Commissioner the authority to use an alternative apportionment method under the circumstances presented here, we reverse and remand.

FACTS

The parties have stipulated to the underlying facts. During 2007 and 2008, Associated *397Bank, N.A. ("Associated Bank"), was a nationally-chartered bank headquartered in Wisconsin, operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Associated Banc-Corp, a bank holding company. Associated Bank had banking locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota, as well as loan-production offices in other states.

In September 2007, Associated Banc-Corp created two LLC1 partnerships under Wisconsin law: Associated MN Commercial RE, LLC ("Commercial LLC") and Associated MN Retail RE, LLC ("Retail LLC"). It is undisputed that Associated Banc-Corp created the two LLCs to minimize the Minnesota corporate franchise tax liability of the LLCs' members.

Each LLC had two members, and each member transferred either a loan portfolio or money to the LLC to secure its partnership interest. Associated Bank and ASBC Investment Corporation ("ASBC"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Associated Bank, became members of Commercial LLC. Associated Bank exchanged its entire Minnesota commercial loan portfolio (consisting of commercial loans, consumer loans, and construction loans worth $1.359 billion) for a 99-percent interest in Commercial LLC. ASBC paid $13.7 million for a 1-percent interest in Commercial LLC.

Retail LLC also had two members: Associated Minnesota Real Estate Corporation ("MN Real Estate") and Associated Bank.2 MN Real Estate transferred its Minnesota retail loan portfolio (consisting of residential home loans worth $707 million) in exchange for a 99-percent interest in Retail LLC. Associated Bank paid $7.1 million for the remaining 1-percent interest in Retail LLC.

Transferring the loans to the LLCs did not change the management of the loans, except that new reports were generated to track the loan portfolios. The loans continued to be secured by tangible or real property located in Minnesota, and to the extent that any loans were unsecured, the borrowers had Minnesota mailing addresses. After the loans were transferred to the LLCs, the loans earned nearly $28 million in interest income during the remaining months of 2007 and another $114.6 million in interest income in 2008.

Minnesota imposes a tax on the taxable income of businesses, including the Bank,3 that "engage in contacts with [Minnesota] that produce gross income attributable to [Minnesota]." Minn. Stat. § 290.02 (2016). When a taxpayer conducts business in Minnesota and other states, the combined income is allocated to each state through "an apportionment formula that generates a fair share of the combined income attributable to each state for tax purposes."

*398Kimberly-Clark Corp. v. Comm'r of Revenue , 880 N.W.2d 844, 846 (Minn. 2016) ; see Minn. Stat. § 290.17, subd. 3 (2016) ; Caterpillar, Inc. v. Comm'r of Revenue , 568 N.W.2d 695, 696-97 (Minn. 1997).

The income of a multi-state unitary business,4 such as the Bank, is apportioned to Minnesota by using a method, or "formula," prescribed by Minnesota Statutes section 290.191 (2016). The applicable apportionment method depends on the type of entity.5 See generally Minn. Stat. § 290.191. In 2007 and 2008, for a "financial institution," a three-factor formula apportioned net income by accounting for: (1) sales or receipts, which included loan interest; (2) property, which included the value of intangible property, such as loans; and (3) payroll. Minn. Stat. § 290.191, subds. 3, 6, 11. Non-financial entities used the "[a]pportionment formula of general application," another three-factor formula, accounting for: (1) sales, (2) property, and (3) payroll.6 Id. , subds. 2, 5, 9-10, 12. Accordingly, loan-interest receipts and intangible property were not accounted for in the general apportionment formula. See id. ; see also id. , subd. 6(f)-(i) (accounting for "[i]nterest income" only when determining the receipts factor for financial institutions).

The parties agree that, in 2007 and 2008, each LLC member was a "financial institution," but each LLC was not, and therefore different apportionment methods applied to the members and the LLCs under section 290.191.

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Bluebook (online)
914 N.W.2d 394, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/associated-bank-na-v-commr-of-revenue-minn-2018.