On May 3, 2017, in Romantix Holdings Inc. v. the Iowa Dept. of Revenue, the Court of Appeals of Iowa affirmed the Iowa Department of Revenue’s (the “Department”) determination that (1) a parent holding corporation was ineligible to join its Iowa subsidiaries’ consolidated Iowa income tax returns because the holding company was not subject to Iowa income tax; and (2) the holding company’s Iowa subsidiaries could not deduct certain expenses incurred and paid directly by the holding corporation but ratably allocated to the subsidiaries based on a percentage of revenue approach.  While the Court ruled against the taxpayer on both issues, this case more broadly holds that an in-state operating subsidiary’s use of an out-of-state holding company’s intangible property, including a business trademark, does not necessarily create nexus for the out-of-state holding company with Iowa.  The Court’s ruling potentially conflicts with determinations from other state courts under similar facts where intangible holding companies were held to have nexus based on the activities of in-state operating subsidiaries involving the out-of-state entities’ intangible personal property. See our prior coverage, Colorado District Court Holds Economic Nexus Exists for a Minnesota Intangible Holding Company and Agrees to a Modified Alternative Apportionment Method, June 19, 2017.