On August 21, 2018, Gulf Copper filed its Response to the Comptroller's Petition for Review. The Comptroller had previously filed a Petition for Review asking the Texas Supreme Court to reverse the decisions by the trial court and court of appeals. Gulf Copper won in both of those courts.

Gulf Copper rebuilds offshore oil rigs. The case concerns whether Gulf Copper may exclude payments to subcontractors and subtract its operating costs when calculating its "margin," which is the tax base under the Texas franchise tax. Despite the lower courts' rulings in Gulf Copper's favor, the Comptroller seeks to deny Gulf Copper both the COGS subtraction and the revenue exclusion in order to collect more tax. Gulf Copper has also filed a Petition for Review asking the court to render judgment on the amount of its COGS subtraction instead of sending the case back to the trial court for further factual development.

The Texas Supreme Court has not yet issued orders on whether it will hear an appeal on any aspect of the lower court's rulings. Once the Texas Supreme Court issues orders, we'll update this blog accordingly. Meanwhile, please call or e-mail Jimmy Martens or Danielle Ahlrich if you have questions about this case.