Thursday, July 1, 2004

Michael McIntyre (Wayne State) presented The Congressional Power to Regulate State Taxes Is Not the Power to Destroy Them at the Critical Tax Conference at Rutgers-Newark. Here is part of the Introduction:

The extent of congressional power under the Commerce Clause is the topic addressed in this paper. Section A provides some general background on federal power to limit the taxing power of the states under the Commerce Clause….In section B, I discuss the possible impact of the so-called new federalism on congressional power to regulate state taxes under the Commerce Clause. I conclude that the new federalism cases do not provide any new grounds for restricting the power of Congress to regulate state taxes that implicate interstate commerce. Section C addresses the limitations on congressional control over state taxes under traditional concepts of federalism—what I have labeled the “old federalism.” I conclude that Congress does not have the authority under its enumerated powers to abolish a major state revenue source in the guise of regulating interstate commerce.