In the case of Standard Oil Co. v. Peck, Tax Commissioner et al., 1951, the U.S Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether Ohio's tax on motor fuel violated the Commerce Clause by discriminating against interstate commerce. The court ruled in favor of Standard Oil Company and held that Ohio’s tax did indeed violate the Commerce Clause because it imposed a higher burden on out-of-state companies than those within state lines. This decision reaffirmed that states cannot use their taxing power to give an advantage to local businesses over their out-of-state competitors as this would interfere with free trade among states.

In the dissenting opinion for Standard Oil Co. v. Peck, it was argued that Ohio's tax on intangible property held by a foreign corporation should not be deemed unconstitutional just because the same property might also be taxed in another state where it is used or has situs. The dissent emphasized that there was no constitutional prohibition against multiple taxation of intangibles and pointed out that such double taxation often occurs with tangible properties as well without being considered unconstitutional. It further contended that if every state where a corporation operates could impose an ad valorem tax on its full net worth, then Ohio’s imposition of such a tax would not result in multiple taxation but rather apportioned taxation among different states based on their respective contributions to the company's value.