The Supreme Court tackled another tax-related case this term, ruling that a New Jersey nonprofit could immediately challenge a state subpoena seeking sensitive donor information, rather than waiting until the government tried to enforce it.

Most public charities are used to reporting major donors confidentially to the IRS on Schedule B, with donor names redacted from public filings. But a separate government demand for donor identities—especially in connection with an investigation—raises concerns. Just being asked to hand over sensitive donor information, the Court found, especially because it could scare people away from donating, is enough to constitute a legal injury.

The Court did not decide whether the subpoena itself is unconstitutional. It only decided that the nonprofit has the right to challenge it now, rather than later. The case will be sent back to the lower court for further proceedings.

With so many rulings in recent headlines, it might feel like the Supreme Court is busier than usual, but that’s not the case. The October 2025 Term is in line with the Court’s recent smaller dockets–it agreed to hear 59 cases, scheduled 58 for argument, and dismissed one case. By late April, it had issued 29 opinions, plus seven decisions without argument. That places it close to recent terms, but still below the larger dockets the Court handled in earlier decades (from 2007 through 2022, the Court averaged about 74.3 opinions per year), although those figures do not include the Court’s emergency or “shadow” docket, where the Court handles applications for immediate relief.

Despite the smaller merits caseload, tax law geeks like me have been delighted to see high-profile tax cases reach the Court. While the Roberts Court hasn't necessarily taken more tax cases than earlier Courts, the ones it has taken tend to be consequential. The Court has repeatedly used tax as the vehicle for bigger fights: NFIB v. Sebelius on whether the ACA mandate could survive as a tax, Moore v. United States on the Sixteenth Amendment and undistributed earnings, and now, Learning Resources on tariffs and emergency powers. Tax has become a centerpiece for bigger questions about congressional power, executive authority, and constitutional limits.

What unifies these cases is Roberts's own view, as Chief Justice, that taxation is a uniquely significant congressional power — what he called Congress's "birth-right power" in Learning Resources. That framing goes back to NFIB, where he upheld the ACA's shared responsibility payment as a tax even though Congress had framed it as a mandate and penalty, emphasizing that the taxing power can reach even inactivity in ways the commerce power cannot.

Learning Resources also shows the other side. Because the taxing power is so important, Roberts seems reluctant to let Congress hand it over to the executive branch unless Congress speaks clearly. His position appears to be this: taxes are broad and powerful when Congress uses them directly, but courts should be cautious when Congress appears to delegate that power through vague language.

And Learning Resources is still in the news. A federal trade court has struck down President Trump’s latest tariff workaround, rejecting his use of Section 122 to impose a new 10% tariff on most imports. The ruling reinforces the same basic concern from the Supreme Court: The Constitution gives tariff authority to Congress. The courts appear unwilling to let the president use broad emergency statutes to impose sweeping tariffs without clearer congressional authorization.

The power to tax also influences the cost of living—and that’s often a primary consideration when choosing where to rent or buy a home. States and municipalities make decisions about income taxes and property taxes that can drive up (or down) costs and funding related services. As it does every year, Forbes compared nearly 1,000 U.S. locales on everything from housing costs and taxes to healthcare, crime, air quality, and natural hazard risk to sort out the best spots for retirees. Here’s a look at which ones made the top 25 in 2026.

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