Erie Mining Co. v. Commissioner of Revenue

TODD, Justice.

Taconite ore was originally taxed in Minnesota based on annual production. The tax on production is “in lieu” of other taxes, including property taxes that could be imposed on taconite producers. See Minn. Stat. § 298.25 (1982). In 1977 the Minnesota legislature amended Minn.Stat. § 298.24 to compute the “in lieu” tax in one of two ways. The tax is now the greater of the annual taconite production or the average of the last three years of production. The tax court held the averaging method was permissible, but declared unconstitutional the annual production method when…