ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the constitutional restraints found in the federal Constitution as applied to the federal government and the states. It explores the common state constitutional restrictions on state legislatures and, by extension, local governments. In the area of taxation, some state constitutions resemble the proverbial Christmas tree, decorated with a variety of tax provisions, reflecting the give and take of state politics. To allow taxation by a state, even if the tax was nondiscriminatory, wrote Chief Justice Marshall, could threaten the supremacy of the federal government under the Constitution. Income derived from a government either under a contract or as salary was not exempt from nondiscriminatory taxation, even when the cost of the tax is passed on to the government. The apportionment and nondiscrimination criteria are more directly linked to commerce concerns of avoidance of multiple taxation and singling out of interstate businesses.