ANR Pipeline Co. v. Louisiana Tax Commission

EDWARD C. PRADO, Circuit Judge:

ANR Pipeline Co., Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co., and Southern Natural Gas Co. (collectively, “appellants”) own interstate natural-gas pipelines subject to a 25% ad valorem tax under Louisiana Constitution article 7, § 18. They brought and won a state-court suit alleging certain intrastate pipelines were unconstitutionally given more favorable tax treatment by being taxed only at a 15% rate from 1994-2003, 1 but the state court’s remedy was not what they expected. Instead of simply refunding appellants the 10% difference in taxes they had paid under protest, the…