In Agricultural Company v. Pierce County, the Supreme Court of the United States was asked to decide whether a county could tax a corporation's property. The Agricultural Company had been incorporated in the state of Washington and owned a large tract of land in Pierce County. The county had imposed a tax on the company's property, which the company argued was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court held that the county had the right to tax the company's property. The Court reasoned that the company was a creature of the state, and the state had the power to tax the company's property. The Court also noted that the company had the right to challenge the tax in the state courts, and that the company had not done so. The Court's decision established that a county has the right to tax a corporation's property, provided that the tax is not excessive or discriminatory. The decision also established that a corporation has the right to challenge a tax in the state courts.

In the case of Agricultural Company v. Pierce County, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a county had the authority to levy taxes on land owned by an agricultural company that was incorporated in another state. The majority opinion held that such taxation was unconstitutional because it violated the privileges and immunities clause of Article IV of the United States Constitution. However, Justice Field dissented from this ruling and argued that states have broad powers when it comes to taxing property within their borders regardless of its ownership status or origin. He reasoned that if Congress intended for corporations organized outside a particular state not be subject to taxation there, they would have included language in Article IV specifically stating so; since no such language exists, he concluded that states are free to tax any property located within their boundaries as they see fit without violating constitutional law.