MINOR MEMOS. The US Treasury Department told a congressman from North Carolina in March that it lacks authority to bar biodiesel tax credits for fuel blends that use biodiesel made from palm oil. Some US producers are angry that palm oil qualifies. Most palm oil is imported . . . . A court in Washington, DC told that the city in March that it cannot collect unincorporated business taxes from partnerships doing business in the city to the extent the tax falls on partners who live outside the city. Congress barred the District from imposing taxes on the “personal incomes” of nonresidents. The city is expected to appeal. The unincorporated business tax brings the city $100 million a year in revenue — most of it from real estate partnerships.

Keith Martin