Tidewater Inc. v. United States

W. EUGENE DAVIS, Circuit Judge:

The United States of America appeals from the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Tidewater Inc. and its related entities. The issue in this tax case is whether Tidewater, which owns and operates a fleet of vessels serving the energy industry, is entitled to certain FSC tax benefits under the Internal Revenue Code. The resolution of this issue depends on whether the time charter of Tidewater’s vessels to energy industry customers should be considered a “lease” or a “service agreement.” We agree with the district court that the time charters…