Speer v. Oregon Department of Revenue
State Tax Squabbling Leads to Double Taxation for Small Businesses
Steve and Sarah Speer are small-business entrepreneurs who invested in a brewery in Wisconsin while living part-time in Oregon. Despite the Wisconsin brewery operating solely in Wisconsin, the state of Oregon recently decided they wanted a cut of Wisconsin's tax pie, and refusing to recognize a Wisconsin tax credit. The result is that the Speers are now paying a double-tax on their brewery, with money going to both Wisconsin and Oregon, and Oregon taxing over and beyond the effective operation of the brewery.
Taxpayer Defense Center Takes Action
The Taxpayer Defense Center is representing the Speers in a lawsuit against the State of Oregon. The State of Oregon is engaging in an unconstitutional imposition of double taxation against the Speers, in violation of the Due Process Clause and the Dormant Commerce Clause.
NTUF Attorneys Joe Bishop-Henchman and Lindsay Carpenter analyzed the case here:
[W]e argued that Oregon law requires that they recognize Wisconsin’s credit for Oregon’s credit for taxes imposed by another state, and that refusing to do so results in multiple taxation in violation of the Due Process Clause and Dormant Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution . . . By taxing the same income already taxed by Wisconsin and then directing that Wisconsin credits be added to Oregon’s tax, Oregon is effectively placing a tariff on the Speers’ out-of-state business activity.
The Case Is Ongoing
NTUF’s Taxpayer Defense Center will continue to protect small business owners from arbitrary and excessive taxation. The case is TC-MD Case No. 220449G, Speer v. Department of Revenue. Stay tuned for further developments.
Left to Right: Plaintiffs Sarah Speer and Steve Speer, NTUF’s Joseph Bishop-Henchman, and Greenberg Traurig’s Nikki Dobay
Feature Image Credit: TheCatalyst31 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0