Course Description:
This course provides an overview of the law of state and local taxation in the United States, focusing principally on the federal constitutional constraints on states’ capacity to raise revenue. The types of taxes considered include corporate income and franchise taxes, personal income taxes, property taxes, and sales and use taxes. The principal sources of legal authority explored are the Commerce Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause of the federal Constitution, as well as the Uniform Division of Income for Tax Purposes Act. Thematically, the course examines the political and economic justifications for these limits on state power, and the proper judicial and legislative roles in policing such boundaries.
