PORTION OF MARYLAND INCOME TAX RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL:  The Supreme Court today ruled 5-4, in Comptroller of the Treasury v. Wynne that Maryland’s income tax law is an unconstitutional violation of the Dormant Commerce Clause.  Specifically, the Court ruled that Maryland’s income tax unduly burdens interstate commerce by not offering Maryland residents a full credit against income taxes they pay in other States.  The State’s failure to give its residents a credit for income earned outside Maryland constituted double taxation.

There are two quick points of note:  First, the 5-Justice majority lineup was not along purely ideological lines, with the majority consisting of Alito (who wrote the opinion), Chief Justice Roberts, Kennedy, Breyer and Sotomayor (the last two being on the “liberal” wing of the Court).  Scalia, Thomas, Ginsburg and Kagan dissented in various forms.  Second, the Court seems to reinforce its view (illustrated in other cases such as Citizens United) that there is no meaningful difference between individuals and corporations, thus requiring parity of tax treatment between the two (inso far was what out-of-state income may be taxed) by the State.