Cities Management, Inc., Relator v. Commissioner of Revenue

Summary

The court affirmed the tax court’s determination that gain from the sale of a unitary business asset was business income subject to apportionment under Minnesota’s income-allocation statute. It held that the statutory framework, legislative history, and unitary-business provisions establish a constitutional distinction between business and nonbusiness income, and that the gain was constitutionally apportionable. The court declined to decide whether the Commissioner was bound by an unappealed tax court decision in a prior case and rejected collateral estoppel because the controlling legal principles had changed.