United States v. Nye County

KOZINSKI, Circuit Judge:

After getting off to a memorable start in M’Culloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 316, 4 L.Ed. 579 (1819)1 the doctrine of intergovernmental tax immunity has deteriorated into a morass of “inconsistent decisions and excessively delicate distinctions,” United States v. New Mexico, 455 U.S. 720, 730, 102 S.Ct. 1373, 71 L.Ed.2d 580 (1982).2 We venture into the bog yet again to evaluate Nevada’s latest effort to squeeze some tax revenue from the activities of its largest landowner, the United States Government.

When these parties last came to visit, we held that Nevada’s…