CSX Transp., Inc. v. Ga. State Bd. of Equalization

From Conservapedia
Jump to: navigation, search

In CSX Transp., Inc. v. Ga. State Bd. of Equalization, 128 S. Ct. 467 (2007), the U.S. Supreme Court considered whether the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act prohibits States from discriminating against railroads by taxing railroad property more heavily than other commercial property in the State.

In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court held that this statute permits an aggrieved railroad to challenge a State's valuation of its property for tax purposes. Burlington Northern R. Co. v. Oklahoma Tax Comm'n, 481 U.S. 454, 462 (1987). Because the railroad in that case challenged only the State's application of its valuation methods, the Court expressly reserved the question whether a railroad may challenge the State's methods themselves.

The U.S. Supreme Court held that railroads may challenge state methods for determining the value of railroad property, as well as how those methods are applied. It established that the statute provides for nothing less.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion for a unanimous court.