Western Air Lines, Inc., et al. v. Board of Equalization of the State of South Dakota et al. (480 U.S. 123)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided February 24, 1987 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 480 U.S. 123 · 107 S. Ct. 1038
- Decided
- February 24, 1987
- Term
- October Term 1986
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice O'Connor
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice O’Connor delivered the opinion of the Court. In this case we consider whether the South Dakota Airline Flight Property Tax, S. D. Codified Laws, ch. 10-29 (1982), violates the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of 1982, 49 U. S. C. App. § 1513(d). We conclude that because the South Dakota Airline Flight Property Tax is an “in lieu tax which is wholly utilized for airport and aeronautical purposes,” 49 U. S. C. App. § 1513(d)(3), the tax does not violate § 1513(d). I The federal provision at issue is part of a series of congressional actions dedicated to improving the Nation’s air transportation system. Aloha Airlines, Inc. v. Director of Taxation, 464 U. S. 7, 8-10 (1983). In 1970, following findings that “substantial expansion and improvement of the airport and airway system is [sic] required to meet the demands of interstate commerce, the postal service, and the national defense,” H. R. Conf. Rep. No. 91-1074, p. 29 (1970), Congress required the Secretary of Transportation to prepare a plan for the development of public airports, and authorized the Secretary to make grants to States and localities for airport development. Airport and Airway Development Act of 1970, Pub. L. 91-258, 84 Stat. 219. Congress also established an Airport and Airway Trust Fund, maintained by federal aviation taxes, to finance airport development projects. §208, 84 Stat. 250. Soon afterward,…
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