Whether the Equal Protection Clause permits a state to impose property taxes on intangible assets of only select businesses while exempting other taxpayers from such taxation

No question identified. : Pursuant to Rules 13.5 and 30.3 of this Court, Applicant Delta Air Lines, Inc. (‘Delta’) respectfully requests a 30-day extension of time, to and including November 21, 2025, within which to file a petition for a writ of certiorari to review the judgment of the Oregon Supreme Court. The Oregon Supreme Court entered its judgment on July 24, 2025. Unless extended, the time within which to file a petition for a writ of certiorari will expire on October 22, 2025. This Application is filed more than ten days prior to that date. The jurisdiction of this Court would be invoked under 28 U.S.C. § 1257. A copy of the opinion of the Oregon Supreme Court, which is reported as Delta Air Lines, Inc. v. Dep't of Revenue, 374 Or. 58, 573 P.3d 856 (Or. 2025), is attached as Exhibit 1. I BACKGROUND This case concerns whether the Equal Protection Clause permits a state legislature to tax intangible property only when that property is owned by a few categories of businesses, but not when the same intangible property is owned by any other taxpayer in the state. In Oregon, intangible property is not subject to tax, with one exception. See Or. Rev. Stat. § 307.030(2) (“Except as provided in ORS 308.505 to 308.674, intangible personal property is not subject to assessment and taxation.”). The lone exception is intangible property owned by companies engaged in specific businesses selected by the legislature: air transportation, water transportation, air express, communication, 150653213.6 0027074-00010 heating, gas, electricity, pipelines, and toll bridges.1 Or. Rev. Stat. § 308.515(1). The intangible property of these companies—and these companies alone—is taxed. The property of these companies is also “centrally” assessed by the Oregon Department of Revenue, instead of being locally assessed by county assessors as other Oregon taxpayers’ property is, but this action does not challenge who assesses the property. Rather, it concerns what property is taxed. Delta is an interstate and international air carrier company doing business in Oregon. Accordingly, property used in Delta’s air transportation business that has a situs in Oregon is assessed by the Oregon Department of Revenue and then taxed. The assessment includes Delta’s intangible personal property, such as intellectual property, goodwill, trade names, marketing agreements, contracts, and other intangible assets. As a result, the amount of property tax owed by Delta is greater than would be the case if, like almost every other taxpayer in Oregon, its intangible property were “not subject to... taxation.” Or. Rev. Stat. § 307.030(2). This proceeding arises from Delta’s appeal of the assessments of its property for the tax year 2019-2020. The Oregon Tax Court held that taxing the intangible property of only the statutorily listed types of businesses violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment: [T]he court concludes that the list of businesses in ORS 308.515(1) violates ... the federal Equal Protection Clause as to Delta, because the court finds no genuine 1 The statutory list also includes several categories related to the railroad industry, but a federal statute prohibits Oregon from enforcing discriminatory taxes against railroads. See BNSF Ry. Co. v. Or. Dep’t of Revenue, 965 F.3d 681, 693 (9th Cir. 2020) (“Oregon’s tax on BNSF’s intangible personal property unlawfully discriminates against a railroad in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 11501(b)(4).”). 2 150653213.6 0027074-00010 differences between Delta’s (taxable) use of intangible property in its transportation business and the (exempt) use of intangible property in road transportation businesses or in other businesses that rely on a network of property. Delta Air Lines, Inc. v. Dep’t of Revenue, 25 Or. Tax 308, 353 (Or. T.C. 2028). On appeal, the Oregon Supreme Court reversed. It reasoned that the Oregon legislature’s “intangible property used by a centrally assessed business and intangible proper