Charlotte Cuno, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., et al., Defendants-Appellees: on appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio: brief of Tax Executives Institute, Inc. as Amicus Curiae in support of Defendants-Appellees' petition for rehearing with suggestion for rehearing en banc.

• Position: IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT: No. 01-3960

On September 23, 2004, TEI filed the following brief amicus curiae with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Charlotte Cuno, et al. v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., et al. TEI asked the court to reconsider the three-judge panel decision. which struck down Ohio's investment tax credit program as unconstitutional. The letter was prepared under the aegis of the Institute's State & Local Tax Committee, whose chair is Janet M. Wilson of Halliburton Company.

Identity and Interest of Amicus Curiae

Pursuant to Rule 29 of the Rules of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Tax Executives Institute, Inc. respectfully submits this brief as amicus curiae to urge the Court to grant the Petition for Rehearing with Suggestion for Rehearing En Banc of the Defendents-Appellees. (1) Attorneys for the Plaintiff-Appellants and Defendants-Appellees have consented to the filing of this brief. Because the panel's ruling invalidating Ohio's investment tax credit program on constitutional grounds will have substantial repercussions in the Sixth Circuit and across the country, it should be reconsidered by the panel or addressed by the Court sitting en banc.

Tax Executives Institute, Inc. ("TEI" or "the Institute") is a voluntary, nonprofit association of corporate and other business executives, managers, and administrators who are responsible for the tax affairs of their employers. The Institute was organized in 1944 under the laws of the State of New York and is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C.). TEI has approximately 5,400 members who represent more than 2,800 of the leading corporations in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The Institute is dedicated to promoting the uniform and equitable enforcement of the tax laws, to reducing the costs and burdens of administration and compliance to the benefit of both government and taxpayers, and to vindicating the Commerce Clause and other constitutional rights of all business taxpayers within a tax system that facilitates economic growth. The members of the Institute represent a cross-section of the business community, whose employers are, almost without exception, engaged in interstate commerce.

The panel's determination that Ohio's investment tax credit unconstitutionally discriminates against interstate commerce by imposing a lesser tax burden on companies making in-state investments in capital equipment compared with companies making...