Harley-Davidson, Inc. v. Franchise Tax Bd.

*249Plaintiff Harley Davidson and its subsidiaries (Harley-Davidson) form a multistate enterprise with numerous functionally integrated subsidiary corporations. It contends that defendant California Franchise Tax Board's (Board) tax scheme violates the commerce clause of the federal Constitution ( U.S. Const., art. I, § 8, cl. 3 ), claiming that it burdens interstate enterprises by providing a benefit to intrastate enterprises not available to interstate enterprises. An intrastate unitary business may use either combined or separate accounting to report its income to the Board, whereas…