Professor Shanske Comments for Northern California Record on California Court of Appeal Case

Professor Darien Shanske commented for the Northern California Record on a California Court of Appeal dispute between Comcast and the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) over whether Comcast controlled the shopping network QVC in the late 1990s. Comcast is contesting a lower court decision that a $1.5 billion contractual termination fee was taxable business income, and the FTB contests the finding that there was not unity between Comcast and QVC during the time in question.

“Both fact patterns strike me as fairly unique,” said Shanske. “That said, if this case were to lead to a California Supreme Court decision that aimed to clarify the existing tests, then that would be significant.”

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Darien Shanske is a Professor of Law at UC Davis. His academic interests include taxation, particularly state and local taxation, local government law, public finance, and political theory, particularly jurisprudence.