Cynthia Bauerly, Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Revenue v. William Fielding, Trustee of the Reid and Ann MacDonald Irrevocable GST Trust for Maria V. MacDonald, et al.

Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia classify trusts as residents throughout their existence if the grantor was domiciled in-state at the time the trust became irrevocable. A resident trust in these jurisdictions is subject to income taxation on capital gains and other income from intangibles such as interest and dividends. Deepening a conflict among the state high courts, however, the Minnesota Supreme Court held that the Due Process Clause prohibits Minnesota from applying its income tax to resident trusts that are administered by an out-of-state trustee. That is so, ruled the court, even though the trusts were funded by stock in a closely held family business headquartered in Minnesota; the capital gains being taxed resulted from the sale of stock in that Minnesota business; the trust documents were drafted and signed in Minnesota; the trust agreements incorporate Minnesota law; and one of the beneficiaries resides in Minnesota. The question presented is: Does the Due Process Clause prohibit states from imposing incomes taxes on statutory “resident trusts” that have significant additional contacts with the state, but are administered by an out-of-state trustee?