Professor Shanske Comments on Supreme Court Petition for Tax Notes

Professor Darien Shanske commented for Tax Notes on Dot Foods Inc. v. Department of Revenue, in which a taxpayer is asking for U.S. Supreme Court review of a Washington Supreme Court decision upholding a retroactive provision of the state’s business and occupation tax.

Professor Shanske said it was unlikely that the Supreme Court would hear the case. There is no circuit split, and the standard for review of this sort of retroactive tax statute is rational basis, which grants considerable leeway to state authorities.  

Darien Shanske is a Professor of Law at UC Davis. His academic interests include taxation, particularly state and local taxation, local government law, public finance, and political theory, particularly jurisprudence.