Commissioner of Revenue of the State of Minnesota v. Nelson CA2/6

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Relevant Entities and Persons Avanti and Twin Cities Stores, Inc. ("T.C. Stores") were wholly-owned subsidiaries of RM Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Nelson owned an 85 percent interest in RM Group. Avanti and T.C. Stores owned or operated various retail convenience stores that sold sundries and gasoline. Scott Stevens was Avanti's president. Unpaid Tax Liability Avanti purchased all of the petroleum products sold by both Avanti and T.C. Stores. In 2008 and 2009, Avanti failed to pay to the Department of Revenue ("the Department") petroleum and sales taxes for petroleum products sold by Avanti and T.C. Stores. Because Avanti made all petroleum purchases and filed all petroleum tax returns for the combined companies, the Department filed tax liens against Avanti alone. Because T.C. Stores sold some of the gasoline, it may also have been liable for failing to pay taxes on the petroleum products sold at its facilities. (See Minn. Stat. § 296A.10 (2010).) In 2009, Avanti submitted a proposal for the payment of the taxes that the Department rejected. Avanti's request for reconsideration explained that Avanti and T.C. Stores acted as a…