In the 1906 case of Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway Company v. Babcock, Treasurer of Adams County, Nebraska, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the railway company. The dispute centered around a tax levied by Adams County on railroad tracks owned by the company that ran through several counties in Nebraska. The county argued that it had jurisdiction to impose such a tax because part of those tracks were located within its boundaries. However, the railway company contended this was an unfair practice as they were being taxed multiple times for one piece of property (the track). They claimed this constituted double taxation and violated their rights under both state law and federal constitution's Fourteenth Amendment due process clause which prohibits states from depriving "any person of life, liberty or property without due process." In siding with Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railway Co., SCOTUS held that while local governments have power to levy taxes on real estate within their jurisdictions; when properties extend beyond single locality into multiple ones - like railroads do - only state can assess them so as not to subject owners to duplicative taxation.

In the dissenting opinion for Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway Company v. Babcock, Treasurer of Adams County, Nebraska (1906), it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a tax on railroad companies based on their gross earnings violated principles of equal protection under law. The dissent contended that this form of taxation unfairly targeted railroads and did not apply uniformly to all businesses within the state. It further suggested that such a tax could potentially discourage investment in railway infrastructure due to its disproportionate financial burden on these companies compared with other types of businesses. This view held that taxes should be levied equitably across different industries rather than singling out specific sectors for higher rates.