Latest Case: CSX Transportation, Inc. v. South Carolina Department of Revenue (Civil Rights)

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CSX Transportation, Inc. v. South Carolina Department of Revenue

Dockets: 19-1089, 19-1154

Opinion Date: May 20, 2020

Judge: Stephanie Dawn Thacker

Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Tax Law

CSX argued that SCVA impermissibly discriminates against railroads in violation of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976. The Fourth Circuit reversed the district court's determination that South Carolina had provided sufficient justification for the discriminatory tax. The court held that CSX has made a prima facie showing of discriminatory tax treatment based on the appropriate comparison class of other commercial and industrial real property taxpayers in South Carolina. Furthermore, the state's three justifications -- the equalization factor applied to railroad assessments, the combined effect of other tax exemptions applied to rail carriers, and assessable transfers of interest which trigger new appraisals -- were insufficient to justify the discriminatory tax scheme.