SCOTUS JUST GAVE CALIFORNIA THE POWER TO TAX YOU: As Glenn notes, the Supreme Court  today allowed states to tax purchases made online from out-of-state sellers. I seem to remember something about “No taxation without representation,” but apparently the majority (weirdly, Kennedy, Thomas, Gorsuch, Alito, and…Ginsburg) forgot that. The opinion is a real piece of work, even going full “You didn’t build that” at one point. Roberts’ dissent is right on the money, pointing out that such a dramatic change to the internet economy could have far-reaching consequences, and that Congress is much better suited to address the issue.

In any event, here are some pertinent comments from colleagues who submitted an amicus brief to the court in favor of the status quo:

Jessica Melugin: “Stopping state regulatory and tax power at each state’s border should be the default rule for online commerce, but the Supreme Court has chosen to set state tax authorities loose on small online businesses and their customers across the country.

Erik Jaffe: “We are disappointed the Supreme Court today, in allowing states to extend their taxing authority beyond their borders, passed up an opportunity to reassert the horizontal federalism principles of the Constitution. Rather, adopting mistaken notions that state sovereignty extends beyond state borders and that the purchasing power of state citizens are assets belonging to the state, the court fundamentally subverts federalism.

“Instead, the only check on state overreach is now the court’s legislative judgment under a dormant commerce clause jurisprudence that gets both the commerce clause and the judicial role in enforcing it wrong. Hopefully, Congress will see the folly of this approach and act to constrain state encroachment on interstate commerce.”

Finally, I’ll note that some states are eager to tax people who put up links to companies like Amazon on their websites. Sorry, bloggers…