Mullaney v. Anderson

Background

The Alaska Fishermen’s Union and its Secretary-Treasurer sued to stop the Territorial Tax Commissioner from collecting a $50 license from nonresident commercial fishermen while residents paid $5. The District Court upheld the law, the Court of Appeals reversed, and the case reached this Court to decide how far the Territorial Legislature’s power extends. The Union sought to add two nonresident fishermen as plaintiffs to make sure the real parties affected were before the Court.

Reasoning

The Court addressed whether a territory can impose a large fee difference against citizens of other States. It relied on prior limits on state discrimination and the Territory’s Organic Act provisions that give the Constitution and federal laws force in Alaska. The Commissioner claimed higher enforcement costs justified the differential, but offered no concrete dollar evidence and disclaimed knowledge of actual costs. The Court found the asserted relation between the higher fee and enforcement costs unsupported, noted that the extra amounts paid could far exceed the Tax Commissioner’s appropriation, and concluded Congress did not clearly permit the Territory to treat out-of-state citizens worse than a State may.

Real world impact

The ruling prevents collection of the discriminatory nonresident fee and protects nonresident fishermen from such licensing differentials in Alaska. It makes clear that constitutional protections for citizens of other States apply within the Territory unless Congress unmistakably says otherwise, limiting territorial power to tax or license in a discriminatory way.

Dissents or concurrances

Three Justices would have reached a different result and would have reversed, reflecting disagreement about the proper scope of territorial taxing power.