Overview
U.S. Supreme Court Vacates, Remands Massachusetts Internal Consistency Case ‘in [L]ight of’ Wynne: Today, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in First Marblehead Corp. v. Massachusetts Commissioner of Revenue. In a summary disposition, the Court vacated the judgment and remanded the case to the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts “for further consideration in light of Comptroller of Treasury of Md. v. Wynne.” On petition, First Marblehead Corp. argued that the state court’s construction of the Massachusetts tax statutes—in particular, the state’s financial institution excise tax—“raise[d] serious concerns of double taxation for financial institutions that outsource the servicing of their loans.” More specifically, First Marblehead Corp. asserted that the state court had applied the internal consistency test in a manner “plainly inconsistent” with Wynne and prior decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. In Wynne, decided in May 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that Maryland’s state income tax violated the dormant commerce clause because it failed the internal consistency test.