316
Opinion of the Court
meaning of the regulation[s] by its own inquiry, or by resort to an administrative process." See Hoffman Estates v. Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc., 455 U. S. 489, 498 (1982). Taxpayers, under the State's scheme, may seek "an advance determination" from the Tax Board regarding the tax consequences of a proposed course of action. Cal. Code of Regs., Title 18, § 25137-6(e)(2) (1985).
Rules governing international multijurisdictional income allocation have an inescapable imprecision given the complexity of the subject matter. See Container Corp., 463 U. S., at 192 (allocation "bears some resemblance . . . to slicing a shadow").14 Mindful that rules against vagueness are not "mechanically applied" but depend, in their application, on "the nature of the enactment," Hoffman Estates, 455 U. S., at 498, we hold that California's scheme does not transgress constitutional limitations in this regard, and that Barclays' due process argument is no more weighty than its claim of discrimination first placed under a Commerce Clause heading.
IV
A
Satisfied that California's corporate franchise tax is "proper and fair" as tested under Complete Auto's guides,
14 As noted by the California Court of Appeal, even the federal separate accounting scheme preferred by Barclays entails recourse to a standard "akin to reasonable approximation." 10 Cal. App. 4th 1742, 1763, 14 Cal. Rptr. 2d 537, 550 (1993). The Internal Revenue Code allows the Secretary of Treasury to "distribute, apportion, or allocate gross income, deductions, credits, or allowances" among a controlled group of businesses "if he determines that such distribution, apportionment, or allocation is necessary in order to prevent evasion of taxes or clearly to reflect the income" of such businesses. 26 U. S. C. § 482; see App. in No. 92-1384, p. A-829 (testimony of Barclays' expert witness that § 482 requires "reasonable approximation[s]" of arm's-length prices); Peck v. Commissioner, 752 F. 2d 469, 472 (CA9 1985) (under § 482, Internal Revenue Service determination of arm's-length prices will be sustained unless unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious).
Page: Index Previous 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007