Arkansas Writers' Project, Inc. v. Ragland, Commissioner of Revenue of Arkansas (481 U.S. 221)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 22, 1987 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 481 U.S. 221 · 107 S. Ct. 1722
- Decided
- April 22, 1987
- Term
- October Term 1986
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority author
- Justice Marshall
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
- Constitutional ruling
- State/territorial law held unconstitutional
Opinion excerpt
Justice Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court. The question presented in this case is whether a state sales tax scheme that taxes general interest magazines, but exempts newspapers and religious, professional, trade, and sports journals, violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of the press. J — l Since 1935, Arkansas has imposed a tax on receipts from sales of tangible personal property. 1935 Ark. Gen. Acts 233, §4, pp. 593, 594, now codified at Ark. Stat. Ann. §84-1903(a) (1980 and Supp. 1985). The rate of tax is currently four percent of gross receipts. § 84-1903 (three percent); Ark. Stat. Ann. §84-1903.1 (Supp. 1985) (additional one percent). Numerous items are exempt from the state sales tax, however. These include “[g]ross receipts or gross proceeds derived from the sale of newspapers,” §84-1904(f) (newspaper exemption), and “religious, professional, trade and sports journals and/or publications printed and published within this State . . . when sold through regular subscriptions.” §84-1904(j) (magazine exemption). Appellant Arkansas Writers’ Project, Inc., publishes Arkansas Times, a general interest monthly magazine with a circulation of approximately 28,000. The magazine includes articles on a variety of subjects, including religion and sports. It is printed and published in Arkansas, and is sold through mail subscriptions, coin-operated stands, and…
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