Interstate Tax Uniformity and the Multistate Tax Commission‪.‬

INTRODUCTION The Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) was established out of concern over the lack of uniformity in interstate taxation and the fear that in the absence of voluntary uniformity the federal government would dictate the nature of uniformity. This paper first considers why the MTC was formed and, second, what it is and does, with a focus on the issue of tax uniformity in the context of the state corporate income tax. In the third section we discuss the case for interstate uniformity. We then turn to a discussion of what might be expected of an interstate compact, based on some basic theoretical considerations. The focus then shifts to the degree of uniformity of state corporate income taxes that has been achieved since the formation of the MTC and the advantages and disadvantages of alternative approaches to achieving uniformity, namely voluntary compacts versus federal mandates. The final section provides a brief conclusion.