Camps Newfound/owatonna, Inc. v. Town of Harrison, Maine, et al.

Decided May 19, 1997. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 94-1988 · 520 U.S. 564 (1997) · Cited 392 times

Holding

An otherwise generally applicable state property tax violates the Commerce Clause if its exemption for property owned by charitable institutions excludes organizations operated principally for the benefit of nonresidents.

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 5–4.

“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.

• Woodruff v. Parham · 75 U.S. 123 (1869)
• New Energy Co. of Indiana v. Limbach · 486 U.S. 269 (1988)
• West Lynn Creamery, Inc. v. Healy · 512 U.S. 186 (1994)
• City of Philadelphia v. New Jersey · 437 U.S. 617 (1978)
• General Motors Corp. v. Tracy · 519 U.S. 278 (1997)
• Fulton Corp. v. Faulkner · 516 U.S. 325 (1996)
• Hughes v. Oklahoma · 441 U.S. 322 (1979)
• Walz v. Tax Comm'n of City of New York · 397 U.S. 664 (1970)
• Oregon Waste Systems, Inc. v. Department of Environmental Quality of Ore. · 511 U.S. 93 (1994)
• Hughes v. Alexandria Scrap Corp. · 426 U.S. 794 (1976)
• White v. Massachusetts Council of Construction Employers, Inc. · 460 U.S. 204 (1983)
• Maine v. Taylor · 477 U.S. 131 (1986)
• Sporhase v. Nebraska Ex Rel. Douglas · 458 U.S. 941 (1982)
• Reeves, Inc. v. Stake · 447 U.S. 429 (1980)
• Gibbons v. Ogden · 22 U.S. 1 (1824)
• Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc. · 397 U.S. 137 (1970)
• Maryland v. Louisiana · 451 U.S. 725 (1981)
• Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States · 379 U.S. 241 (1964)
• Bacchus Imports, Ltd. v. Dias · 468 U.S. 263 (1984)
• City of Milwaukee v. Illinois · 451 U.S. 304 (1981)
• Edwards v. California · 314 U.S. 160 (1941)
• Chemical Waste Management, Inc. v. Hunt · 504 U.S. 334 (1992)
• Michelin Tire Corp. v. Wages · 423 U.S. 276 (1976)
• United States v. Lopez · 514 U.S. 549 (1995)
• Brown v. Maryland · 25 U.S. 419 (1827)
• H. P. Hood & Sons, Inc. v. Du Mond · 336 U.S. 525 (1949)
• Southern Pacific Co. v. Arizona Ex Rel. Sullivan · 325 U.S. 761 (1945)
• C & a Carbone, Inc. v. Town of Clarkstown · 511 U.S. 383 (1994)
• Pennsylvania v. West Virginia · 262 U.S. 553 (1923)
• CTS Corp. v. Dynamics Corp. of America · 481 U.S. 69 (1987)

Cited by

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

• Comptroller of Treasury of Md. v. Wynne · 575 U.S. 542 (2015)
• Department of Revenue of Kentucky v. Davis · 553 U.S. 328 (2008)
• Wyeth v. Levine · 555 U.S. 555 (2009)
• United Haulers Ass'n v. Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority · 550 U.S. 330 (2007)
• Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Assn. v. Thomas · 588 U.S. 504 (2019)
• Kansas v. Garcia · 589 U.S. 191 (2020)
• National Pork Producers Council v. Ross · 598 U.S. 356 (2023)
• Arizona v. United States · 567 U.S. 387 (2012)
• Printz v. United States · 521 U.S. 898 (1997)
• Bates v. Dow Agrosciences LLC · 544 U.S. 431 (2005)
• Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America v. Walsh, Acting Commissioner, Maine Department of Human Services · 538 U.S. 644 (2003)
• South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. · 585 U.S. 162 (2018)
• Kurns v. Railroad Friction Products Corp. · 565 U.S. 625 (2012)
• American Trucking Associations, Inc. v. Michigan Public Service Commission · 545 U.S. 429 (2005)
• Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic · 606 U.S. 357 (2025)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1997). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).