SAN FRANCISCO - Microsoft and its subsidiaries have locked horns with the City and County of San Francisco, as well as their Office of the Treasurer and the Tax Collector, after the tech giant says it overpaid on taxes in San Francisco and wants the excess back.
According to documents filed on Feb. 26 in the San Francisco County Superior Court, Microsoft files a single gross receipt tax (GRT) return for all of its San Francisco business dealings.
Microsoft paid the San Francisco Tax Collector $9.4 million for its 2018 tax year, and over $5 million later for its 2018 annual business tax return. The suit says that the plaintiff erroneously included over $27 billion in foreign dividends as gross receipts; only 25% were subject to tax, the suit says. Additionally, more than $7 billion was accidentally included in foreign sales receipts in the annual business tax return, the suit says.
Microsoft is requesting a tax refund appropriate to the accurate figures that should be filed in accordance with San Francisco GRT law. The plaintiff is represented by Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw, Pittman LLP.