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Reflections On Commonwealth Edison Co. V. Montana, Mike Mcgrath, Walter Hellerstein

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On the final day of its 1980-81 term, the United States Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited decision in Commonwealth Edison Co. v. Montana, which sustained Montana's coal severance tax over commerce and supremacy clause objections. In a six-to-three decision, the Court upheld the right of the states to set their own tax rates without fear of judicial interference. The Court's conclusion was rooted in its recognition that the determination of the rate or amount of a state tax is fundamentally a political question, which "must be resolved through the political process . . . by state legislatures in …