Governor Signs Legislation Rejecting Controversial Business Privilege Tax Regulation

Alabama’s business privilege tax (“BPT”) is imposed on every business entity doing business or registered to do business in Alabama, and provides for a deduction in computing the taxable base equal to the book value of the taxpayer’s investment in the equity of any other business entity that is also doing business in Alabama. Ala. Code § 40-14A-23. Last year, the Alabama Department of Revenue (the
“Department”) proposed a controversial regulation that would have deleted this statutory deduction for all tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2010. Prop. Ala. Admin. Code r. 810-2-8-.08. In advance of that, they also issued an amended BPT form, without public notice and comment, which simply deleted the line that formerly allowed the deduction. The 2011 form contains the same error.

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