The Silence of Congress : State Taxation of Interstate Commerce

Argues for greater congressional oversight of state taxation of interstate commerce. The Silence of Congress is the first book to examine state taxation of interstate commerce and the relative inactivity on the part of Congress to regulate such commerce. As states actively seek to maximize tax revenues, congressional silence has affected both citizens and corporations and resulted in myriad tax inequalities from one state to another on such things as personal income, estates, cigarettes and alcoholic beverages, tourism, and even visiting athlete status. Inconsistencies also affect a state's ability to attract and hold lucrative business investments such as sports franchises and gambling facilities. Noting that Congress has been slow to take advantage of the broad powers granted it by the United States Constitution in this area, Joseph F. Zimmerman evaluates the usefulness of Adam Smith's four universally acclaimed maxims of fair taxation and recommends changes to ground rules that would increase cooperation between states while aiding in the creation of a more perfect economic union. The Silence of Congress......Page 4 Contents......Page 8 Preface......Page 9 Acknowledgments......Page 12 1. State Competition for Tax Revenue......Page 14 2. Excise and Documentary Taxes......Page 36 3. Severance Taxes......Page 60 4. The Nonresident Income Tax......Page 74 5. Corporate Income Taxation......Page 92 6. Escheats and Tax Revenue Competition......Page 118 7. Competition for Other Tax Resources......Page 144 8. The Silence of Congress......Page 166 9. Fairness in Taxation of Interstate Income......Page 188 Notes......Page 206 Bibliography......Page 246 B......Page 292 F......Page 293 I......Page 294 N......Page 295 T......Page 296 Y......Page 297