Duquesne Light Co. v. State Tax Dept.

MILLER, Justice:

The State Tax Commissioner appeals a decision of the Circuit Court of Kanawha County which struck down our business and occupation tax on the generation of electric power, W.Va.Code, ll-lS-^m.1 The court below held that this case was controlled by Arizona Public Serv. Co. v. Snead, 441 U.S. 141, 99 S.Ct. 1629, 60 L.Ed.2d 106 (1979), in which the United States Supreme Court struck down a New Mexico utility tax because it violated Section 2121(a) of the Tax Reform Act of 1976, 15 U.S.C. § 391 (1976). We disagree and reverse.

I

Before addressing the particular facts and issues…