Fulton Corporation v. Janice H. Faulkner, Secretary of Revenue of North Carolina

Decided February 21, 1996. David Hackett Souter delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 94-1239 · 516 U.S. 325 (1996) · Cited 220 times

Holding

North Carolina’s intangibles tax discriminates against interstate commerce in violation of the dormant Commerce Clause.

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 9–0.

“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.

• Oregon Waste Systems, Inc. v. Department of Environmental Quality of Ore. · 511 U.S. 93 (1994)
• Maryland v. Louisiana · 451 U.S. 725 (1981)
• Armco Inc. v. Hardesty · 467 U.S. 638 (1984)
• Henneford v. Silas Mason Co. · 300 U.S. 577 (1937)
• Associated Industries of Mo. v. Lohman · 511 U.S. 641 (1994)
• Kidd v. Alabama · 188 U.S. 730 (1903)
• McKesson Corp. v. Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, Fla. Dept. of Business Regulation · 496 U.S. 18 (1990)
• Halliburton Oil Well Cementing Co. v. Reily · 373 U.S. 64 (1963)
• Hughes v. Oklahoma · 441 U.S. 322 (1979)
• Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Jefferson Lines, Inc. · 514 U.S. 175 (1995)
• Chemical Waste Management, Inc. v. Hunt · 504 U.S. 334 (1992)
• Complete Auto Transit, Inc. v. Brady · 430 U.S. 274 (1977)
• City of Philadelphia v. New Jersey · 437 U.S. 617 (1978)
• Tyler Pipe Industries, Inc. v. Washington State Department of Revenue · 483 U.S. 232 (1987)
• Powell v. McCormack · 395 U.S. 486 (1969)
• Gibbons v. Ogden · 22 U.S. 1 (1824)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Beach Communications, Inc. · 508 U.S. 307 (1993)
• Allied Stores of Ohio, Inc. v. Bowers · 358 U.S. 522 (1959)
• Bacchus Imports, Ltd. v. Dias · 468 U.S. 263 (1984)
• New Energy Co. of Indiana v. Limbach · 486 U.S. 269 (1988)
• Minneapolis Star & Tribune Co. v. Minnesota Commissioner of Revenue · 460 U.S. 575 (1983)
• Dean Milk Co. v. City of Madison · 340 U.S. 349 (1951)
• Boston Stock Exchange v. State Tax Commission · 429 U.S. 318 (1977)
• Commonwealth Edison Co. v. Montana · 453 U.S. 609 (1981)
• Williams v. Vermont · 472 U.S. 14 (1985)
• Postal Telegraph Cable Co. v. Adams · 155 U.S. 688 (1895)
• Gregg Dyeing Co. v. Query · 286 U.S. 472 (1932)

Cited by

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

• Department of Revenue of Kentucky v. Davis · 553 U.S. 328 (2008)
• Comptroller of Treasury of Md. v. Wynne · 575 U.S. 542 (2015)
• Camps Newfound/Owatonna, Inc. v. Town of Harrison · 520 U.S. 564 (1997)
• General Motors Corp. v. Tracy · 519 U.S. 278 (1997)
• Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida · 517 U.S. 44 (1996)
• United States v. International Business MacHines Corp. · 517 U.S. 843 (1996)

Official text

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

Explore from here

David Hackett Souter’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1996). 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).