According to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) blog, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on November 12, 2014 in the case of Maryland State Comptroller of the Treasury v. Brian Wynne. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the decision by the Maryland Court of Appeals back in May 2014.
At issue in this case is whether the failure to allow a credit against the county income tax violates the commerce clause because it discriminates against interstate commerce. Future U.S. Supreme Court action will determine whether counties could be faced with refunding more than $190 million in income taxes, plus interest, for prior years and providing approximately $50 million a year in credits prospectively.
MACo has joined with the International Municipal Lawyers Association and several other stakeholders to support a “friend of the court” brief urging the US Supreme Court to overturn state court holdings and defend county income tax structures that have been in place for decades.
As previously reported on Conduit Street,
The full brief from IMLA, MACo, and an impressive list of other stakeholders was submitted this week, in advance of the case being heard in the next term of the Court. The National Association of Counties, National Conference of State Legislatures, and National League of Cities all joined in the effort.
