Memphis Bank & Trust Co. v. Garner, Shelby County Trustee, et al. (459 U.S. 392)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided January 24, 1983 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 459 U.S. 392 · 103 S. Ct. 692
- Decided
- January 24, 1983
- Term
- October Term 1982
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Marshall
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court. The Tennessee bank tax imposes a tax on the net earnings of banks doing business within the State, and defines net earnings to include income from obligations of the United States and its instrumentalities but to exclude interest earned on the obligations of Tennessee and its political subdivisions. Tenn. Code Ann. §67-751 (Supp. 1982). This appeal presents the question whether the Tennessee bank tax violates the immunity of obligations of the United States from state and local taxation. I Appellant Memphis Bank & Trust Co. (Memphis Bank) brought this action in state court to recover $56,696.81 in taxes covering the years 1977 and 1978 which had been assessed pursuant to the Tennessee bank tax, Tenn. Code Ann. §67-751 (Supp. 1982). Each bank doing business in Tennessee is required under § 67-751 to pay to local governments of the State a tax of 3% of the bank’s net earnings for the preceding fiscal year, less a portion of the ad valorem taxes paid by the bank for that year. Under the statute, net earnings include interest received by the bank on the obligations of the United States and its instrumentalities, as well as interest on bonds and other obligations of States other than Tennessee, but exclude interest on obligations of Tennessee and its political subdivisions. Appellant alleged that the bank tax, as applied to it,…
Excerpt of a 13,109-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.