Publication

This report examines the constitutional provisions that might be implicated by retroactive tax legislation, including legislation that seems intended to punish past behavior. Specifically, it looks at how a court might analyze whether retroactive tax legislation violates the due process guarantees of the Fifth Amendment; is a taking for purposes of the Fifth Amendment; violates the prohibition against ex post facto legislation; is an unconstitutional bill of attainder; or violates the equal protection guarantees of the Fifth Amendment.