- Court: Oregon Supreme Court
- Area(s) of Law: Tax Law
- Date Filed: 07-01-2021
- Case #: S067283
- Judge(s)/Court Below: Nakamoto, J. for the Court; Walters, C.J.; Balmer, J.; Duncan, J.; Nelson, J.; Garrett, J.; & Kistler, S.J.
- Full Text Opinion
Level 3 Communications, LLC (Level 3), appealed its “real market value” for tax purposes between 2014 and 2017 as accepted by the Oregon Tax Court. Level 3 argued that the Department of Revenue (the Department) improperly valued its company using a central assessment scheme of taxation which included the company’s “investment attributes.” Level 3 appealed the Department’s valuation and the Oregon Tax Court affirmed. The Tax Court found that the central assessment scheme allowed for shareholder value to be considered when making a valuation. ORS 308.505(14) defines property so broadly as to include all property of the company that may be discovered. The Court held that Level 3 fundamentally misunderstood how the Department reached its valuation. The Court reasoned that the inclusion of Level 3’s investment attributes in the valuation was proper because such assets are considered property under the statutory scheme. Further, the Court reasoned that the statutory scheme does not require the Department to utilize a certain method of ascertaining the entire value of all property. The judgment of the Tax Court is affirmed.