31 Md. 279 | Md. | 1869
delivered the opinion of the Court.
The appellant was indicted for that, not being a permanent resident of this State, he did, on the 4th of Decern
The law enacts that “ no person, not being a permanent resident of this State, shall sell, offer for sale, or expose for sale, within the limits of the city of Baltimore, any goods, wares, or merchandise, other than agricultural products and articles manufactured in the State of Maryland, within the limits of said city, either by card, sample, or other specimen, or by written or printed trade list, or catalogue, whether such person be the maker or manufacturer thereof or not, without first obtaining a license so to do.” The rate of license is fixed at three hundred dollars, to run one year from date, and the penalty for so selling without license is, for each offence, not less than four hundred nor more than six hundred dollars. The same provision, so far as applicable to a ease like this, is contained in the Code, Art. 56, sees. 37,&c.,and has been the law of the State, since 1852, a period of seventeen years. No question has hitherto been raised as to the power of the Legislature to
1st. To that clause of the eighth section of the first article, which grants to Congress the power “ to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes.”
2d. To that clause of the second section of the fourth article, which declares that “ the citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens of the several States.”
Before examining the decisions of the Supreme Court, which, upon such questions, are binding and authoritative expositions of the Constitution, and to which the Courts of all the States should yield respectful obedience, it is proper to ascertain what the law before us is, and what it seeks to accomplish. It is not a law which, upon its face, purports to levy a tax by way of license to sell, upon either foreign or domestic imports, whilst remaining in the hands of the importer in original packages. The indictment does not charge, nor does the record show that the goods sold by the appellant were goods of this description. Nor does the law purport to be a tax upon the transit of goods through the State for trafile or commercial purposes. But it is a tax upon a particular business or trade, carried on entirely within the limits of the State. Maryland, in common with other States, has subjected to taxation, by way of license, and as a source of revenue, every kind of business or trading carried on within her limits. With respect to her own citizens, her laws provide that no person or corporation within this State, other than the grower, maker, or manufacturer, shall barter or sell any goods, "wares, or merchandise, without first obtaining a license in the mode prescribed, and these licenses are graded according to the amount of merchandise or stock on hand, held by each person at the principal season of
1st. In reference to the first clause of the Constitution of the United States above quoted, all the decisions of the Supreme Court agree, that it confers upon Congress no power of regulation or direct control over the internal commerce or domestic trade of the States. License Tax Cases, 5 Wallace, 470. As said by Mr. Justice McLean, in delivering the opinion of the Court in the case of Nathan vs. Louisiana, 8 How., 80, 82, “ The right of a State to tax its own citizens for the prosecution of any particular business
2d. Is it repugnant to the clause entitling the citizens of each State to all privileges and immunities of citizens of the several States ?
Before adverting to the decisions upon this clause, it is proper, in this connection, to notice the argument that the law discriminates and imposes a higher' rate of taxation upon manufactures of other States, and goods located beyond the limits of Maryland, and upon those who sell them, than is imposed on similar goods located in Maryland, and sold here by resident traders. It is' to be observed that no direct State tax can reach goods outside of the limits of the State, but if we assume the effect of the law is to make discrimination in favor of the resident trader, and to protect the manufacturing and business welfare of the State, we know of no decision, of either State or Federal Courts, which would authorize us to pronounce it unconstitutional and void for that reason. - In Brown vs. Maryland, C. J. Marshall expressly declined to give an opinion as to the validity of a law imposing a tax discriminating between foreign and domestic articles, and he said this, with reference to importations from a sister State. In the License Cases, 5 How., 504, the laws
But without pursuing this series of decisions further, let us see if there is anything in the clause as to “ privileges and immunities,” which is contravened by the Act before us. The Supreme Court have declined to give a general construction to this clause. In Conner vs. Elliott, 18 How., 593, they said, “We do not deem it needful to attempt to define the meaning of the word privileges in this clause of the Constitution. It is safer and more in accordance with the duty of a judicial tribunal to leave its meaning to be determined in each case, upon a view of the particular rights asserted and denied therein. And especially is this true when we are dealing with so broad a provision, involving matters not only of great delicacy and importance, but which are of such a character that any merely abstract definition could scarcely be correct, and a failure to make it so would certainly produce mischief.” A partial construction was given by this Court, in Campbell vs. Morris, 3 H. & McH., 554, to the effect that “ it means that the citizens of all the States shall have the peculiar advantage of acquiring and holding real as well as personal property, and that such property shall be protected and secured by the laws of the State, in the same manner as the property of the citizen of the State is protected. It means such property shall not be liable to any taxes or burdens which the property of the citizen is not subjected to. It may also mean that as creditors, they shall be on the same footing with the State creditor in the payment of the debts of a deceased debtor. It secures and protects personal rights.” In the enumeration made by
These decisions certainly show that the provision is; effective to prevent the property, real or personal, owned by a non-resident, and located in the State, from being-subjected to any higher rate of State taxation than similar property of resident owners, but, in our judgment, they do not cover the present case. The law before us is; not a tax upon either person or property, but on a particular trade or business, carried on in the State, and cannot, in our opinion, be regarded as imposing a higher rate of taxation upon non-residents than upon citizens, either in respect to person or property. Nor do we perceive it to-be in any other respect, unjust, unfair, or discriminating in operation and effect. We have shown that the State has power to impose a license tax on all trade or business carried on in its borders, whether by its own citizens, or those of other States. The resident owner or trader is required to take out a license to carry on his business or
"We do not, however, rest-our decision altogether upon this ground, for we are further of opinion that even if this law is to be regarded as restrictive and discriminating in its character and design, it still simply imposes a tax on a particular business, carried on in a particular mode within the limits of the State, which it is perfectly competent for the legislature to regulate and’ restrain, and in so doing, has violated neither of the clauses of the Constitution of the United States, to which reference has been made. The judgment is accordingly .affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.