A.W. Chesterton Co. v. Commissioner of Revenue

The appellant, A.W. Chesterton Company (Chesterton), is a Massachusetts business corporation engaged in the manufacture and sale of sealing devices for pumps and valves and other industrial products. These are sold nationally and internationally, primarily through an extensive network of independent distributors. After filing its corporate excise tax returns for the tax years 1977, 1978, and 1979, Chesterton applied to the Department of Revenue for abatements. These were denied. Chesterton appealed to the Appellate Tax Board, which allowed Chesterton modest abatements of the excise paid for…