In the case of Pierce Oil Corporation v. City of Hope in 1918, the Supreme Court ruled on a dispute involving taxation and corporate rights. The city of Hope, Arkansas had imposed an annual license tax on businesses operating within its jurisdiction. Pierce Oil Corporation, which was incorporated in Texas but operated a branch office in Hope, challenged this tax arguing that it violated their Fourteenth Amendment rights by denying them equal protection under the law as they were being taxed differently than other corporations based solely on their out-of-state incorporation status. However, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of such taxes stating that states have broad power to levy taxes for revenue purposes and can classify taxpayers into different categories if there is reasonable basis for doing so. In this case, it found no violation of equal protection clause because both foreign and domestic corporations were subject to same kind of taxation.

In the dissenting opinion for Pierce Oil Corporation v. City of Hope, it was argued that the city's ordinance imposing a license tax on businesses operating within its jurisdiction should not be considered unconstitutional. The dissenting justices believed that such an ordinance did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause as claimed by Pierce Oil Corporation. They contended that cities have inherent power to levy taxes and regulate local affairs under their police powers, including business operations within their boundaries. Furthermore, they disagreed with the majority's view about discriminatory taxation because different types of businesses were taxed differently based on various factors like potential harm or benefit to society or economic viability among others which is a common practice in many jurisdictions across America.