The U.S. Supreme Court case Boston Stock Exchange et al. v. State Tax Commission et al., 1976, revolved around a New York tax law that imposed higher taxes on stock sales made out-of-state than those conducted within the state. The Boston Stock Exchange and other plaintiffs argued this was discriminatory against interstate commerce, violating the Commerce Clause of the Constitution which gives Congress power to regulate trade between states. The court agreed with them in a 7-1 decision, ruling that while states have broad powers to tax businesses operating within their borders, they cannot use these powers in ways that discriminate against interstate commerce or favor local over out-of-state businesses without sufficient justification for doing so.

The dissenting opinion in the Boston Stock Exchange v. State Tax Commission case argued that the tax law of New York did not violate the Commerce Clause, contrary to what was concluded by majority decision. The justice believed that there was no discriminatory intent or effect on interstate commerce as a result of this law. They held that it is within a state's right to impose taxes for revenue purposes and such an act does not necessarily burden interstate commerce unless proven otherwise with substantial evidence. Furthermore, they contended that any incidental effects on interstate transactions were too indirect and remote to be considered unconstitutional under the Commerce Clause. Therefore, they disagreed with striking down New York’s tax scheme based solely on hypothetical scenarios where discrimination could occur rather than actual instances of discrimination against out-of-state entities.