General Motors Corp. v. State Tax Commission

This appeal stems from an attempt by plaintiff General Motors Corporation to avoid a property tax audit. In 1986, the City of Warren, acting under a belief that General Motors had been underreporting its taxable personal property, hired Plante & Moran, an independent accounting firm, to audit General Motors. Later, pursuant to a contractual arrangement with the city, the State Tax Commission hired Plante & Moran to go forward with the audit. At all times, General Motors has refused to submit to the audit, and the matter has ripened into the present action for declaratory judgment.

Essentially,…