Morgan Guaranty Trust Co. v. Tax Appeals Tribunal of the New York State Department of Taxation & Finance

OPINION OF THE COURT

Kaye, J.

This appeal calls upon us to determine whether a State tax of general application — in this case a tax on gains derived from real property transfers within the State — is preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Based on the structural, administrative and economic impact of the tax on the qualified employee benefit plan in issue in this case, we conclude that the tax relates to the employee benefit plan in more than a tenuous, remote or peripheral way, therefore requiring preemption.

The relevant facts have been stipulated. Respondent,…