States and even local governments routinely seek to attract businesses through tax incentives, credits, or exemptions. In one of many pending legal challenges, a federal appeals court has declared that many such measures constitute an impermissible, discriminatory interference with interstate commerce. This decision in Cuno v. DaimlerChrysler has prompted a now-pending request for Supreme Court review, as well as demands for federal legislation that would regulate the permissible scope of state tax competition for business.
What do Cuno and its consequences entail for state governments, businesses, and taxpayers—and for the federal architecture? Are tax incentives and exemptions a healthy form of state competition or a destructive industrial policy race to the bottom? What (if anything) should be done to regulate state policy in this area? Leading experts and participants in the judicial and legislative arenas will discuss the legal, economic, and political aspects of the controversy.
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