The U.S. Supreme Court refused to question a Michigan tax changethat companies including IBM Corp. and Procter & Gamble Co. saywill hit them retroactively with a $1 billion bill.

The companies argued that the change violates the U.S.Constitution and the Multistate Tax Compact, a 50-year-oldagreement among states for dividing the taxes owed by companiesthat do business in multiple jurisdictions. The Supreme Courtrejected the appeals without comment. Justice Samuel Alito didn'tparticipate in the cases.

Michigan state courts upheld the change, which was enactedthrough laws passed in 2007 and 2014. The first measure laid out anew formula for multistate companies to use in calculating theirtaxes, effective Jan. 1, 2008.

After the Michigan Supreme Court said companies could still usea different formula authorized by the Multistate Tax Compact, thestate passed the 2014 law, which explicitly repealed that approach.The new measure applied retroactively to 2008.

The appeals argued that the Multistate Tax Compact is acontract, binding on the states that signed it. The companies alsocontended that the retroactive liability violated theConstitution's due-process clause because the change upset settledexpectations.

The companies that pressed the appeals also included GoodyearTire & Rubber Co., Aetna Inc.'s Coventry unit, AT&T Inc.'sDirecTV unit, and the law firm Skadden Arps.

Michigan officials urged the Supreme Court not to hear theappeals, saying the 2014 measure merely clarified what the 2007 lawintended.

The cases are Sonoco v. Michigan Department of Treasury, 16-687;Skadden Arps v. Michigan Department of Treasury,16-688; Gillette v. Michigan Department of Treasury, 16-697;IBM v. Michigan Department of Treasury, 16-698; Goodyear v.Michigan Department of Treasury, 16-699; and DirecTV v. MichiganDepartment of Treasury, 16-736.

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