U.S. SUPREME COURT RULES AGAINST INTEREST PAYMENTS ON HARBOR TAX REFUNDS
Shippers will not be entitled to receive interest on the Harbor Maintenance Tax refunds they received as a result of a U.S.Supreme Court ruling that the tax — which had been in effect for several years — is unconstitutional as applied to exports.
The ruling, handed down by the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, overturns an earlier decision by the Court of International Trade, holding that shippers were entitled to refunds and interest.
The court said it could not find the required statutory framework for paying interest on the HMT refunds. “If relief for these taxpayers is to be granted, Congress must grant it,” said Judge Jane A. Restini, author of the court opinion.