Comerica Inc v. Department of Treasury

Summary

The Court held that tax credits lawfully assigned to one bank subsidiary passed by operation of law to another subsidiary when the banks merged, because the Banking Code transferred the predecessor bank's property and attributes without requiring an assignment. The SBTA's prohibition on subsequent assignments did not expressly or implicitly bar that statutory merger transfer, and strict construction could not alter the ordinary meaning of the statutes. The Court therefore affirmed the Court of Appeals and held that the Department of Treasury improperly disallowed the credits.