Goldberg et al. v. Sweet, Director, Illinois Department of Revenue, et al.

Decided January 10, 1989. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 87-826 · 488 U.S. 252 (1989) · Cited 305 times

Holding

The Illinois tax does not violate the Commerce Clause, since it satisfies the final three prongs of the Complete Auto test.

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.

• American Trucking Assns., Inc. v. Scheiner · 483 U.S. 266 (1987)
• Complete Auto Transit, Inc. v. Brady · 430 U.S. 274 (1977)
• Container Corp. of America v. Franchise Tax Board · 463 U.S. 159 (1983)
• Commonwealth Edison Co. v. Montana · 453 U.S. 609 (1981)
• D. H. Holmes Co., Ltd. v. McNamara · 486 U.S. 24 (1988)
• Western Live Stock v. Bureau of Revenue · 303 U.S. 250 (1938)
• Moorman Manufacturing Co. v. Bair · 437 U.S. 267 (1978)
• Tyler Pipe Industries, Inc. v. Washington State Department of Revenue · 483 U.S. 232 (1987)
• Central Greyhound Lines, Inc. v. Mealey · 334 U.S. 653 (1948)
• Mobil Oil Corp. v. Commissioner of Taxes of Vt. · 445 U.S. 425 (1980)
• McGoldrick v. Berwind-White Coal Mining Co. · 309 U.S. 33 (1940)
• Armco Inc. v. Hardesty · 467 U.S. 638 (1984)
• Michigan-Wisconsin Pipe Line Co. v. Calvert · 347 U.S. 157 (1954)
• Maryland v. Louisiana · 451 U.S. 725 (1981)
• Bacchus Imports, Ltd. v. Dias · 468 U.S. 263 (1984)
• Wardair Canada Inc. v. Florida Department of Revenue · 477 U.S. 1 (1986)
• Boston Stock Exchange v. State Tax Commission · 429 U.S. 318 (1977)
• Japan Line, Ltd. v. County of Los Angeles · 441 U.S. 434 (1979)
• Spector Motor Service, Inc. v. O'Connor · 340 U.S. 602 (1951)
• Maryland v. United States Tandy Corporation v. United States North American Telephone Association v. United States Illinois v. United States · 460 U.S. 1001 (1983)
• National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Department of Revenue · 386 U.S. 753 (1967)
• Northwest Airlines, Inc. v. Minnesota · 322 U.S. 292 (1944)
• Department of Revenue v. Ass'n of Washington Stevedoring Companies · 435 U.S. 734 (1978)

Cited by

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

• Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Jefferson Lines, Inc. · 514 U.S. 175 (1995)
• Comptroller of Treasury of Md. v. Wynne · 575 U.S. 542 (2015)
• Amerada Hess Corp. v. Director, Division of Taxation, New Jersey Department of the Treasury · 490 U.S. 66 (1989)
• Trinova Corp. v. Michigan Department of Treasury · 498 U.S. 358 (1991)
• Quill Corp. v. North Dakota Ex Rel. Heitkamp · 504 U.S. 298 (1992)
• West Lynn Creamery, Inc. v. Healy · 512 U.S. 186 (1994)
• American Trucking Associations, Inc. v. Michigan Public Service Commission · 545 U.S. 429 (2005)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1989). 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).