County Tax on Export-Bound Crude Oil Gets Texas Justices’ Review

The Texas Supreme Court will review a ruling that two petroleum exporters are federally protected from county property tax on their storage of crude oil in coastal tanks.

The US Constitution’s import-export clause broadly limits state taxation on any foreign export property. Since its 1995 decision in Virginia Indonesia Co. v. Harris County Appraisal District, the Texas high court has applied the US Supreme Court’s “stream of export” doctrine where property is considered an export once it enters consistent transit to its foreign destination. The court will hear oral arguments October 6.

• Gunvor USA LLC and Devon Gas Services ...