Allied Stores of Ohio, Inc. v. Bowers

The principal question presented is whether an Ohio statute that exempts from ad valorem taxation “merchandise or agricultural products belonging to a nonresi*523dent ... if held in a storage warehouse for storage only” denies to appellant, a resident of the State, the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.

The facts are stipulated. So far as pertinent, they are that appellant, Allied Stores of Ohio, Inc., an Ohio corporation, owns and operates a department store in each of four Ohio cities. It also maintains in each of those cities a private…