Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Chris Quinn, et al. v. Washington, et al.
Paid petition · Supreme Court of Washington, No. 100769-8 · judgment March 24, 2023
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
Upset with what they saw as an unduly regressive tax system, a narrow majority in the Washington legislature recently enacted a 7% long-term capital gains tax that exempts the first $250,000 per year. But the Washington State Constitution mandates that all taxes on “property,” which includes income as a matter of state law, must be uniform and capped at 1%, such that residents with higher incomes cannot be made to pay more as a percentage of their income than those who make less. To get around these state-law limits, the new tax operates as an excise tax—i.e., it is “imposed on the sale or exchange of long-term capital assets,” not on the income generated by it. RCW 82.87.040(1). Yet while that may have solved a statelaw problem, it created a federal-law problem. Seattle is not a hotbed of securities trading, so an excise tax on high-dollar-value transactions would not raise much revenue if it were limited to transactions and property in the state. Not surprisingly, the new excise tax thus reaches far beyond Washington’s borders to tax transactions that occur in other states involving property located out of state. The question presented is: Whether the Constitution permits a state to tax out-of-state transactions involving only out-of-state property.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Erin E. Murphy
Clement & Murphy, PLLC
For respondent
Paul J. Lawrence
Pacifica Law Group
Proceedings
- Jan 16 2024Petition DENIED.
- Jan 08 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/12/2024.
- Jan 04 2024Rescheduled.
- Jan 02 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/5/2024.
- Dec 07 2023Rescheduled.
- Nov 21 2023DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/8/2023.
- Nov 21 2023Reply of petitioners Chris Quinn, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Nov 03 2023Brief of respondents Edmonds School District, et al. in opposition filed.
- Nov 03 2023Brief of respondents Washington, et al. in opposition filed.
- Oct 16 2023Brief amici curiae of Citizen Action Defense Fund, et al filed.
- Oct 16 2023Brief amici curiae of Washington Policy Center, et al. filed.
- Sep 22 2023Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including November 3, 2023.
- Sep 20 2023Motion to extend the time to file a response from October 16, 2023 to November 3, 2023, submitted to The Clerk.
- Sep 15 2023Response Requested. (Due October 16, 2023)
- Sep 13 2023Letter from counsel for petitioner submitted.
- Sep 13 2023DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/6/2023.
- Sep 11 2023Letter from amicus Citizen Action Defense Fund not accepted for filing. (September 12, 2023)
- Sep 06 2023Waiver of right of respondent Washington, et al. to respond filed.
- Aug 21 2023Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 22, 2023)
- Jul 12 2023Application (22A1084) granted by Justice Kagan extending the time to file until August 21, 2023.
- Jul 07 2023Application (22A1084) to extend further the time from July 22, 2023 to August 21, 2023, submitted to Justice Kagan.
- Jun 15 2023Application (22A1084) granted by Justice Kagan extending the time to file until July 22, 2023.
- Jun 09 2023Application (22A1084) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from June 22, 2023 to July 22, 2023, submitted to Justice Kagan.