Taxation in a Global Digital Economy

Materials:

Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, 112 S.Ct. 1904 (1992)
State brought declaratory judgment action seeking declaration that out-of-state retailer was required to collect and remit applicable state use tax. Retailer's motion for summary judgment was granted by the District Court, Burleigh County, South Central Judicial District, Benny A. Graff, J., and state appealed. The North Dakota Supreme Court, VandeWalle, J., 470 N.W.2d 203, reversed. On petition for writ of certiorari, the Supreme Court, Justice Stevens, held that: (1) mail-order business did not need to have physical presence in state in order to permit state to require business to collect use tax from its in-state customers, but (2) physical presence in state was required for business to have "substantial nexus" with taxing state required by commerce clause.

Complete Auto Transit, Inc. v. Brady, 97 S.Ct. 1076 (1977)
Action was brought by motor carrier, which transported to Mississippi dealers motor vehicles manufactured outside the state, for refund of sales taxes. The Chancery Court, Hinds County, upheld assessment, and carrier appealed. The Supreme Court of Mississippi, 330 So.2d 268, affirmed, and the United States Supreme Court noted probable jurisdiction. The Supreme Court, Mr. Justice Blackmun, held that where no claim was made that activity in question was not sufficiently connected to state to justify tax, that tax was not fairly related to benefits provided carrier, that tax discriminated against interstate commerce or that tax was not fairly apportioned, application of Mississippi sales tax on privilege of doing business in Mississippi to motor carrier's interstate activity was not per se unconstitutional but rather was valid under principle that interstate commerce must pay its own way.