598
Opinion of the Court
that decision, we traced the history of 4 U. S. C. § 111 and concluded that "the retention of immunity in § 111 is coextensive with the prohibition against discriminatory taxes embodied in the modern constitutional doctrine of intergovernmental tax immunity." 489 U. S., at 813. Under that doctrine, we evaluate a state tax that is alleged to discriminate against federal employees in favor of state employees by inquiring "whether the inconsistent tax treatment is directly related to, and justified by, 'significant differences between the two classes.' " Id., at 816 (quoting Phillips Chemical Co. v. Dumas Independent School Dist., 361 U. S. 376, 383 (1960)).
Well aware of Davis, the State Supreme Court undertook such an inquiry and concluded that significant differences existed between military retirees, who are taxed by Kansas, and state and local government retirees, who are not. The court proceeded to consider the State's six proffered distinctions between military retirees and state and local government pensioners:
"(1) [F]ederal military retirees remain members of the armed forces of the United States after they retire from active duty; they are retired from active duty only; (2) federal military retirees are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and may be court martialed for offenses committed after retirement; (3) they are subject to restrictions on civilian employment after retirement; (4) federal military retirees are subject to involuntary recall; (5) federal military retirement benefits are not deferred compensation but current pay for continued readiness to return to duty; and (6) the federal military retirement system is noncontributory and funded by annual appropriations from Congress; thus, all benefits received by military retirees have never been subject to tax." 249 Kan., at 196, 815 P. 2d, at 53.
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