Austin et al. v. New Hampshire et al.

Decided March 19, 1975. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 73-2060 · 420 U.S. 656 (1975) · Cited 166 times

Holding

Under the rule requiring substantial equality of treatment for the citizens of the taxing State and nonresident taxpayers, the New Hampshire Commuters Income Tax violates the Privileges and Immunities Clause, since the tax falls exclusively on nonresidents' incomes and is not offset even approximately by other taxes imposed upon residents alone.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 7–1.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Toomer v. Witsell · 334 U.S. 385 (1948)
• Allied Stores of Ohio, Inc. v. Bowers · 358 U.S. 522 (1959)
• Lehnhausen v. Lake Shore Auto Parts Co. · 410 U.S. 356 (1973)
• Shaffer v. Carter · 252 U.S. 37 (1920)
• Sierra Club v. Morton · 405 U.S. 727 (1972)
• Grosjean v. American Press Co. · 297 U.S. 233 (1936)
• Paul v. Virginia · 75 U.S. 168 (1869)
• Madden v. Kentucky Ex Rel. Commissioner · 309 U.S. 83 (1940)
• Mullaney v. Anderson · 342 U.S. 415 (1952)
• Michigan-Wisconsin Pipe Line Co. v. Calvert · 347 U.S. 157 (1954)
• Florida v. Mellon · 273 U.S. 12 (1927)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Baldwin v. Fish and Game Comm'n of Mont. · 436 U.S. 371 (1978)
• United Building & Constr. Trades Council of Camden Cty. v. Mayor and Council of Camden · 465 U.S. 208 (1984)
• Pennsylvania v. New Jersey · 426 U.S. 660 (1976)
• Zobel v. Williams · 457 U.S. 55 (1982)
• Hicklin v. Orbeck · 437 U.S. 518 (1978)
• Western & Southern Life Ins. Co. v. State Bd. of Equalization of Cal. · 451 U.S. 648 (1981)
• Supreme Court of NH v. Piper · 470 U.S. 274 (1985)
• Williams v. Vermont · 472 U.S. 14 (1985)
• United States Steel Corp. v. Multistate Tax Commission · 434 U.S. 452 (1978)
• Supreme Court of Virginia v. Friedman · 487 U.S. 59 (1988)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1975). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).