Bendix Corp. v. City of Los Angeles

Plaintiff Bendix Corporation appeals from that portion of the judgment entered herein that denied it recovery of an overpayment of taxes on its gross receipts for the tax years 1976 and 1977. Having prevailed on the question of its entitlement to refunds for all other tax years, it does not challenge the remaining portion of the judgment. It contends:

Insofar as is required to resolve the issues on appeal, the history of the litigation currently before us may be summarized as follows: “For tax years preceding 1954, the city classified taxpayers as manufacturers or sellers of goods, wares, and merchandise so that all of their gross receipts were taxable at the rates stated in sections 21.166 and 21.167 of the [Los Angeles Business Tax Ordinance]. Beginning with the tax year 1954, the city classified taxpayers’ gross receipts as taxable pursuant to sections 21.166 and 21.167 to the extent that the receipts were derived from sales to commercial and industrial customers or to the government pursuant to contracts not containing [a] vesting of title clause. Different tax treatment was given by the city to gross receipts on contracts which contained the clause vesting in the…