Legal Definitions - unitary tax

A unitary tax is a type of tax imposed by the government on businesses that operate in multiple states or countries. It is based on the idea that a business should be taxed as a single entity, rather than as separate entities in each location where it operates.

For example, if a company has operations in California, Texas, and New York, a unitary tax would calculate the company's tax liability based on its overall income and apportion it among the three states based on factors such as sales, property, and payroll.

Unitary tax is often used to prevent companies from shifting profits to low-tax jurisdictions and to ensure that they pay their fair share of taxes in each location where they do business.

One example of a state that uses a unitary tax system is California. The state's unitary tax law requires multi-state businesses to calculate their tax liability based on a formula that takes into account their worldwide income and apportions it to California based on factors such as sales, property, and payroll.