Clarcor v. Hamer

Corporate plaintiff has subsidiaries engaged primarily in packaging, and other subsidiaries engaged primarily in filtration. Plaintiff included both types of subsidiaries on its tax returns for two years, but then filed amended return to report packaging subsidiaries as separate entity and claiming refund. Illinois Department of Revenue properly found that all subsidiaries should be included as one "unitary business group" for tax purposes. Subsidiaries are horizontally integrated by their sharing of cash, and stock option compensation for senior management are based on performance of plaintiff as a whole. It would be difficult to ascribe with certainty what cash was attributable to which entity. Evidence does not support Plaintiff's argument that parent lacks vertical control over packaging companies. (GARCIA and PALMER, concurring.)