Cite as: 520 U. S. 564 (1997)
Opinion of the Court
principally serve them. As our cases make clear, this sort of discrimination is at the very core of activities forbidden by the dormant Commerce Clause. " '[A] State may not tax a transaction or incident more heavily when it crosses state lines than when it occurs entirely within the State.' " Chemical Waste, 504 U. S., at 342 (quoting Armco Inc. v. Hardesty, 467 U. S. 638, 642 (1984)); see West Lynn Creamery, Inc. v. Healy, 512 U. S., at 193 (tariffs forbidden by the dormant Commerce Clause).
Ninety-five percent of petitioner's campers come from out of State. Insofar as Maine's discriminatory tax has increased tuition, that burden is felt almost entirely by outof-staters, deterring them from enjoying the benefits of camping in Maine.15 In sum, the Maine statute facially discriminates against interstate commerce, and is all but per se invalid. See, e. g., Oregon Waste, 511 U. S., at 100-101.
We recognize that the Town might have attempted to defend the Maine law under the per se rule by demonstrating that it " 'advances a legitimate local purpose that cannot be adequately served by reasonable nondiscriminatory alternatives.' " Id., at 101 (quoting New Energy Co., 486 U. S., at 278). In assessing respondents' arguments, we would have applied our "strictest scrutiny." Hughes v. Oklahoma, 441
15 The Town argues that these effects are entirely speculative, because the record does not reflect any decision by a potential camper not to attend petitioner's camp as a result of the burden imposed. Brief for Respondents 16. The Supreme Judicial Court appears to have adopted similar reasoning. 655 A. 2d, at 879. This misconstrues the proper analysis. As we made clear most recently in Fulton Corp. v. Faulkner, 516 U. S., at 333, n. 3, there is no " 'de minimis' defense to a charge of discriminatory taxation under the Commerce Clause." A particularized showing of the sort respondent seeks is not required. See Associated Industries of Mo. v. Lohman, 511 U. S. 641, 650 (1994) ("[A]ctual discrimination, wherever it is found, is impermissible, and the magnitude and scope of the discrimination have no bearing on the determinative question whether discrimination has occurred"); Maryland v. Louisiana, 451 U. S., at 756; see also Boston Stock Exchange v. State Tax Comm'n, 429 U. S., at 334, n. 13.
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