Kraft, Inc. v. Iowa Department of Revenue & Finance

LARSON, Justice.

Kraft, Inc., a corporation subject to Iowa income tax, receives dividends from subsidiaries in foreign countries. Under Iowa’s income tax statutes, these dividends are required to be included in Kraft’s net income, even though dividends from domestic subsidiaries are not. Kraft complains that this violates the commerce clause of the United States Constitution and denies it equal protection under both the United States and Iowa Constitutions. The district court rejected these arguments, and so do we.

In 1981, the year in question, Kraft received substantial dividends from these…