John R. Sexton & Co. v. Justus

MITCHELL, Chief Justice.

The issue presented in this appeal is whether the Department of Revenue (“Department”) must refund taxes paid under protest pursuant to the Soft Drink Tax Act, N.C.G.S. §§ 105-113.41 to .43 (Supp. 1994), .44 to .47 (1992), by John R. Sexton & Co. (“Sexton”), a Delaware corporation doing business in North Carolina. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that the Department properly assessed the excise taxes and that Sexton is not entitled to a tax refund.

On 30 November 1988, the Department conducted a Soft Drink Tax Audit of Sexton, a food service distribution…