McLane Western, Inc. v. Department of Revenue

199 P.3d 752, 2008 Colo. App. LEXIS 2080, 2008 WL 5006534
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 26, 2008
Docket07CA2497
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 199 P.3d 752 (McLane Western, Inc. v. Department of Revenue) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McLane Western, Inc. v. Department of Revenue, 199 P.3d 752, 2008 Colo. App. LEXIS 2080, 2008 WL 5006534 (Colo. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

Opinion by

Judge GRAHAM.

Plaintiff, McLane Western, Inc., appeals the trial court's order dismissing its complaint against defendants, Department of Revenue of the State of Colorado and Roxy Huber, its Executive Director (collectively, the Department). We reverse and remand with directions.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

A division of this court previously considered an appeal involving a dispute between these parties concerning the same tobacco tax statute, section 39-28.5-102, C.R.98.2008. See McLane W., Inc. v. Dep't of Revenue, 126 P.3d 211 (Colo.App.2005) (McLane I). However, McLane I dealt with different tax years and different constitutional challenges. In Mclane I, the sole issue was whether the excise tax imposed by Colorado on "the sale, use, consumption, handling, or distribution" of "other tobacco products" (OTP) in the state, pursuant to section 39-28.5-102, violates the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution, U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 3. In this appeal, McLane challenges seetion 39-28.5-102 on due process and equal protection grounds.

The relevant statutory scheme prescribed in section 39-28.5-102 provides:

*754 (1) There is levied and shall be collected a tax upon the sale, use, consumption, handling, or distribution of all tobacco products in this state at the rate of twenty percent of the manufacturer's list price of such tobacco products. Such tax shall be imposed at the time the distributor:
(a) Brings, or causes to be brought, into this state from without the state tobacco products for sale;
(b) Makes, manufactures, or fabricates tobacco products in this state for sale in this state; or
(e) Ships or transports tobacco products to retailers in this state to be sold by those retailers.

Section 39-28.5-101(2), C.R.S.2008, defines "distributor" as

every person who first receives tobacco products in this state, every person who sells tobacco products in this state who is primarily liable for the tobacco products tax on such products, and every person who first sells or offers for sale in this state tobacco products imported into this state from any other state or country.

Section 39-28.5-101(8), C.R.S8.2008, defines "manufacturer's list price" as "the invoice price for which a manufacturer or supplier sells a tobacco product to a distributor exelu-sive of any discount or other reduction."

For ease of reference, we now repeat the relevant underlying facts, which are set forth in McLane I.

McLane buys, resells, and ships grocery products throughout the State of Colorado and other western states from its headquarters in Longmont, Colorado. As part of its operations, McLane buys OTP from manufacturers and suppliers and then resells them to its customers, primarily grocery and small convenience stores.

Prior to 1990, as relevant here, McLane purchased OTP directly from the United States - Tobacco Company - (U.S.T.Co.). TU.S.T. Co. manufactured, marketed, and sold its products to unaffiliated distributors.

In 1990, U.S.T. Co. reorganized and formed two wholly-owned subsidiaries, United States Smokeless Tobacco Manufacturing, L.P. (Manufacturing) and United States Smokeless Tobacco Brands, Inc. (Sales). TU.S.T. Co. also changed its name to United States Smokeless Tobaceo Company (Smokeless Tobaceo). After the reorganization, Manufacturing was responsible for manufacturing and packaging the products and Sales was responsible for marketing and sales.

After Smokeless Tobacco reorganized and renamed itself, McLane purchased OTP from Sales. Sales purchased the OTP from Manufacturing at an invoice price that did not include any discounts or other reductions. Sales then resold the OTP at a higher price to McLane. According to Sales, this higher price reflected its own operating costs, profit margin, and the added value that came from its sales, marketing, distribution, and advertising efforts.

Manufacturing and Sales are located outside of Colorado, and the sale of OTP between them occurred outside of Colorado. McLane orders OTP from Sales, which ships McLane's product into the state by common carrier. Upon the arrival of the product at McLane's warehouse, McLane inspects and accepts or rejects it.

A. Mclone I

McLane sought refunds pursuant to see-tions 89-28.5-101 to-111, C.R.8.2008, of what it asserted were excess OTP excise taxes paid during various periods between 1990 and 2001. The OTP excise tax rate was twenty percent, which the Department had assessed based on the manufacturer's or supplier's price paid by McLane to Sales.

McLane filed claims with the Department seeking a refund after computing the tax based on the price paid by Sales to Manufacturing, not on the higher price it paid to Sales. Using this recalculation, McLane claimed a tax refund in the amount of $10,163,024.33 plus statutory interest. The Department denied the claims, and McLane commenced two actions, which were consolidated. After agreeing to the material facts, the parties submitted cross-motions for summary judgment. The trial court granted the Department's motion.

*755 On appeal, McLane argued that the OTP tax statute discriminated against interstate commerce. McLane asserted that, because each layer in the distribution network marks up the price, the tax imposed on the product will be higher the later in that distribution network that one or more of the triggering events listed in section 39-28.5-102 occurs. McLane I, 126 P.3d at 215. Thus, the tax-liable distributor must pay the tax on the larger "tax base" created by the collective price mark-ups. For example, if the manufacturer and all the distributors were located within Colorado, the tax base would be at its lowest level. Accordingly, the location of the manufacturers, suppliers, or distributors involved in the product's distribution network and the price mark-up of each impacts the tax base or the price upon which the constant twenty percent tax rate is imposed. Consequently, McLane asserted that the OTP tax scheme discriminates against interstate commerce by creating an "inexorable pressure" on out-of-state businesses to move into the state to "take advantage of the overall OTP tax benefit." Id.

Although the division agreed with MceLane's assertions that the tax base will be higher the later in the distribution network the product is taxed, it disagreed with McLane's conclusion that this fact rendered the tax unconstitutional under the Commerce Clause. Id. The division explained,

[WJhile the tax here is imposed based on the price paid by the taxable distributor, neither Manufacturing [njor Sales is encouraged to move into the state because they might well become the taxable distributor. The tax is imposed on an activity within the state, the sale and distribution of OTP, not on the product or the distribution network.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
199 P.3d 752, 2008 Colo. App. LEXIS 2080, 2008 WL 5006534, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mclane-western-inc-v-department-of-revenue-coloctapp-2008.