Zimmerman, Joseph F. The Silence of Congress: State Taxation of Interstate Commerce.

• Author: Voelker, James E.
• Position: Book review

Zimmerman, Joseph F. The Silence of Congress: State Taxation of Interstate Commerce. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2007. 277 pages. Cloth, $75.

Of the basic themes of American politics, perhaps none is more enduring than that of federalism. Joseph Zimmerman, a noted scholar of the subject, examines state taxation policies affecting interstate commerce, an area in which the federal government has authority to regulate under Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution. Zimmerman describes in detail the many ways in which states try to outmaneuver one another in their competition for revenues flowing from interstate commerce. He recommends ways in which Congress might improve the equity of interstate tax competition. He also explains why such regulation is unlikely to take place and how states are beginning to work together to improve the equity of state taxation efforts. In short, Zimmerman effectively uses the narrow topic of state taxation of interstate commerce to illustrate the broader aspects of conflict, competition, and cooperation that are inherent in America's federal system of government.

The work's title, The Silence of Congress, reflects the reluctance of Congress to exercise its constitutional power to intervene in state tax laws that have an adverse impact on interstate commerce. According to Zimmerman, no congressional legislation restricting state taxation of interstate commerce was enacted until 1959, and, of the nineteen federal statutes adopted since then, only the Internet Tax Freedom Act of 1998 and its reauthorizations have had any substantial negative impact on the states' ability to generate tax revenue. The overall outcome has been to give states a relatively free hand to tax interstate commerce and to let the federal courts adjudicate alleged violations on a case-by-case basis.

Zimmerman begins with a discussion of the development of the commerce clause and several other constitutional provisions applicable to the states. From there, he examines in considerable detail the taxes devised by states that have a questionable effect on interstate commerce. The categories range from excise and severance taxes to nonresident and corporate incomes taxes, and include efforts to develop sources of revenue from lotteries, casino gambling, and business relocation. Individual chapters of the book focus on these and other relevant taxes. Detailed examples and extensive case law are provided for each.

Zimmerman...