Dow Loses Uniformity Challenge to Pennsylvania Corporate Tax

Dow Chemical Co. lost its challenge to $1.5 million in corporate net income tax liability in Pennsylvania after the state’s commonwealth court held that case law on the constitutionality of a cap on net loss carryovers controlled.

Dow argued that a line of Pennsylvania Supreme Court decisions holding that the cap violates the uniformity clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution—but only applying that ruling prospectively to future tax years—didn’t apply to its case.

Those decisions involved companies attempting to collect refunds on unconstitutional taxes that already had been paid, whereas Dow was challenging its liability before paying them, it said.

The ...