Case Updates
Superior Court deems Comcast and QVC are not unitary;
determines early termination fee is business income. On March
6, 2014, a Los Angeles Superior Court issued its final decision in
Comcon Production Services, Inc. v. Franchise Tax
Board.1 Two issues were before the court: (1)
whether Comcast was unitary with its subsidiary, QVC, and (2)
whether an early termination fee received by Comcast as a result of
a failed merger with MediaOne was business income subject to
apportionment, or non-business income allocable outside California.
In a split decision, the court ruled that (1) Comcast and QVC were
not a unitary business, and (2) the termination fee was
apportionable business income.
