Wilson

During 1984-1986, plaintiff Marc D. Wilson played quarterback for the Los Angeles Raiders. In the off-season during those years, Wilson lived in Washington State and thus was not a California resident for California income tax purposes. However, because Wilson’s income from his Raiders contract derived from a California source, he paid California income tax on a portion of his income for those years. Wilson’s income tax was based on a ratio, set out in defendant California Franchise Tax Board’s (the Board) administrative regulation (Audit Ruling AR-125.1) governing the percentage of a nonresident athlete’s California source income subject to state tax, of the number of days he worked in California (the ratio’s numerator) compared to the total number of days he actually worked or had to be available for work (its denominator). Wilson claimed his contract required him to be available for work every day each year, resulting in 41-45 percent of his income being taxable.

The Board assessed additional taxes for 1984-1986, arguing that under Wilson’s Raiders contract, he only worked or had to be available for work during the football season. The Board’s calculation subjected…