Tennessee Court Of Appeals Rejects Dormant Commerce Clause Challenge To Cable Exemption In DIRECTV, Inc. v. Roberts

The Tennessee Court of Appeals held on February 27, 2015, that the Tennessee Cable Exemption, which exempts the first $15 of cable television service from sales tax, does not violate the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. This ruling reverses the trial court's decision, which had concluded that the exemption was unconstitutional.

This issue involving sales tax exemptions for cable services has been litigated in numerous jurisdictions across the United States, including Ohio, North Carolina, and, most recently, Massachusetts. The courts in these jurisdictions...