New Energy Company of Indiana v. Limbach, Tax Commissioner of Ohio, et al. (486 U.S. 269)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided May 31, 1988 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 486 U.S. 269 · 108 S. Ct. 1803
- Decided
- May 31, 1988
- Term
- October Term 1987
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Scalia
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
- Constitutional ruling
- State/territorial law held unconstitutional
Opinion excerpt
Justice Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court. Appellant New Energy Company of Indiana has challenged the constitutionality of Ohio Rev. Code Ann. §5735.145(B) (1986), a provision that awards a tax credit against the Ohio motor vehicle fuel sales tax for each gallon of ethanol sold (as a component of gasohol) by fuel dealers, but only if the ethanol is produced in Ohio or in a State that grants similar tax advantages to ethanol produced in Ohio. The question presented is whether § 5735.145(B) discriminates against interstate commerce in violation of the Commerce Clause, U. S. Const., Art. I, §8, cl. 3. I Ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, is usually made from com. In the last decade it has come into widespread use as an automotive fuel, mixed with gasoline in a ratio of 1 to 9 to produce what is called gasohol. The interest in ethanol emerged in reaction to the petroleum market dislocations of the early 1970’s. The product was originally promoted as a means of achieving energy independence while providing a market for surplus corn; more recently, emphasis has shifted to its environmental advantages as a replacement for lead in enhancing fuel octane. See United States Department of Agriculture, Ethanol: Economic and Policy Tradeoffs 1 (1988). Ethanol was, however (and continues to be), more expensive than gasoline, and the emergence of ethanol production on a commercial scale…
Excerpt of a 19,190-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.