October Term 2000 · Docket 99-1792

Can states tax banks for cooperatives?

Missouri seeks to tax a cooperative bank. The bank claims federal law blocks that tax.

Official caption
Director of Revenue of Mo. v. CoBank ACB
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Verified source milestones

  1. — An official oral-argument transcript was verified.

The arguments, in order

This case may have been argued more than once. Each entry below uses that session's official transcript. Later arguments do not erase earlier ones.

  1. Argument 1 ·

    What happened at the argument

    Missouri argues Congress implicitly authorized state taxation in 1933.

    The bank argues federal law exempts it from state taxes.

    The bank claims it formed in 1989.

    The bank denies liability before its formation date.

    Read the official transcript for this argument · Official argument details

    Sources used for this argument breakdown

A citizen's guide to the whole case

What this case is about

This case tests state tax power over federal cooperative banks.

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How the case got here

The Supreme Court heard oral argument in this case on November 28, 2000.

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What each side wants

Missouri wants to collect state income tax from the bank.

The bank wants to avoid state income tax entirely.

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What each side says

Missouri argues Congress implicitly allowed states to tax these banks.

The bank argues federal law exempts it from state taxes.

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What the justices asked

When did the bank become subject to state tax liability?

Does federal law preempt state taxation of cooperative banks?

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Why it matters

State budgets rely on broad tax bases. Federal banking structures affect state revenue. This dispute defines the boundary between state and federal power.

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What happens next

This article currently covers the argument record. Use the official docket link for later case activity.

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Official Court provenance

Official docket and case history · Official Supreme Court oral-argument detail page

Title and summary sources

Revision history

  1. Revision 1 · Official Transcript ·

    Correction: Rewritten to the concise citizen-facing editorial standard.

  2. Revision 2 · Official Transcript ·

    Correction: Migrated to the dated official Court activity contract without model use.

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