On April 28, 2009, TEI filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the taxpayer in Capital One Bank v. Commissioner of Revenue. In Capital One, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held the imposition of the Massachusetts Financial Institution Excise Tax on out-of-state taxpayers having no physical presence within Massachusetts did not violate the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. TEI maintains the Massachusetts court erred by concluding the bright-line, physical presence test embraced by the U.S. Supreme Court in Quill has no application to income taxes.
TEI's brief was prepared under the aegis of TEI's State and Local Tax Committee. TEI Tax Counsel Daniel B. De Jong coordinated the preparation of the brief and was its principal author.