Saban Rent-A-Car LLC, Plaintiffs/appellees/cross-Appellants v. Arizona Department of Revenue…

Summary

The court held that Maricopa County's car-rental surcharge does not violate the dormant Commerce Clause because it applies evenhandedly to resident and nonresident rental agencies and customers, notwithstanding that visitors may bear most of the economic burden. It also held that the surcharge does not fall within Arizona's anti-diversion provision because that provision reaches taxes imposed as a prerequisite to, or triggered by, the legal operation or use of vehicles on public roads, not taxes imposed on the business of renting vehicles. Justice Bolick, concurring in part and dissenting in part, agreed on the Commerce Clause issue but would have held that the surcharge violated the anti-diversion provision.