On the Dole, Corporate Style

David Cay Johnston | Jan. 4, 2011 02:04 PM EST

Imagine that Congress or your state legislature passed a law tomorrow saying everybody except you got a tax break because the politicians in both parties disliked your business.

Even if the loser were Julian Assange's WikiLeaks, that law would be struck down by the courts on any number of grounds, including violating the Constitution's equal protection clause and perhaps the third clause under Article I, section 9, which prohibits bills of attainder.

But what about the opposite case? What if the government passed a law requiring every business to pay a tax except your competitor's business?