The Silence of Congress: State Taxation of Interstate Commerce

Joseph F. Zimmerman

Feb 2012 · State University of New York Press

About this ebook

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.

About the author

Joseph F. Zimmerman is Professor of Political Science at the University at Albany, State University of New York. He is the author of many books, including Interstate Disputes: The Supreme Court's Original Jurisdiction and Congressional Preemption: Regulatory Federalism, both also published by SUNY Press.