There are several ways a minority interest might be reported for tax reasons. For example, if Macy’s Inc. bought a portion of Saks Fifth Avenue, it stands to reason that Macy’s would be entitled to that same portion of Saks’ earnings. This raises the question of how Macy’s would report its share of Saks’s earnings on its income statement. The answer depends on the amount of the company’s voting stock that Macy’s would own.
The Cost Method
The cost method is used when the investing firm has a minority interest in the other company, and it has little or no power over the other company’s affairs. Often, this is true for investing firms that own 20% or less of the other company. A firm that owns less than 20%, but still exerts a lot of control, would need to use the equity method.
An Example
In the previous scenario, Macy’s would not be able to report its share of Saks’ earnings, except for the income from any dividends it received on Saks’ stock. The asset value of its shares would be reported on the balance sheet at cost or market value, whichever was lower. Therefore, if Macy’s bought 10 million shares of Saks stock at $5 per share for a total cost of $50 million, it would record any earnings it received from Saks on its income statement. On its balance sheet, Macy’s would record $50 million under investments. If Saks stock rose to $10 per share, the 10 million shares would be worth $100 million. Macy’s balance sheet would be changed to reflect $50 million in unrealized gains, less a deferred tax allowance for the taxes it would owe if it sold the shares. On the other hand, if the stock dropped to $2.50 per share, the value would reduce to $25 million. The income statement would never show the 5% of Saks’ yearly profit that belonged to Macy’s. Only dividends paid on the Saks shares would be shown as dividend income. That is added to total revenue or sales in most cases. Unless you looked deep into the company’s 10-K, you might not even realize that the Saks dividend income is included in total revenue as if it came from sales at Macy’s own stores.
The Equity Method
The equity method is meant for investing firms that hold a great deal of power over the other company while owning a minority stake, as is often the case for firms with between 20% and 50% of ownership, but not more than 50%. In some cases, a firm could own less than 21% and still have enough control that it would need to use the equity method to report it. In most cases, Macy’s would include a single-entry line on its income statement reporting its share of Saks’ earnings. For example, if Saks earned $100 million, and Macy’s owned 30%, it would include a line on the income statement for $30 million in income (30% of $100 million).
The Consolidation Method
The consolidated method only goes into effect when a firm has a controlling stake in the other firm. With this method, as the majority owner, Macy’s must include all of the revenues, expenses, tax liabilities, and profits of Saks on the income statement. It would then also include an entry that deducted the portion of the business it didn’t own. For example, if Macy’s owned 65% of Saks, it would report the entire $100 million in profit, then include an entry labeled “minority interest” that deducted the $35 million (35%) of the profits it didn’t own.
