DC Court Holds Hotel & Sales Tax Exemption Limited to Resident Institutions Unconstitutional

I missed this opinion when it first came out, in part because I have been unable to find a publicly available copy of it. But according to a press release by the law firm bringing the lawsuit in American Philosophical Association v. District of Columbia, the D.C. Superior Court held in February that D.C. Code § 47-2005(3) is an unconstitutional violation of the federal Commerce Clause because it limits exemption from D.C. hotel and sales taxes to semipublic institutions that have offices in D.C. More details about the class action lawsuit can be found here, although the website has not been updated to reflect the court's decision.

Lloyd Mayer