Special Edition: Supremes save cap gains tax

Narrow ruling upholds wealth-focused tax without touching broader precedent

The Supremes’ ruling upholding the capital gains tax will surely make the folks crafting the state’s budgets breathe a little easier. And it’ll cause some cussing and teeth-grinding among the comparative handful of wealthy people who will pay the tax.

But the justices gave a chilly, black-clad shoulder to the higher hopes of the progressive left, which wanted a broader ruling overturning the 1930s-era decision that effectively bans an income tax. That ruling, known as Culliton, found that the money in your wallet is your property, and thus subject to the state constitution’s restrictions on property taxation.