Constitutional Law: State Taxation of Interstate Commerce

The city of Richmond by ordinance required all solicitors to pay an annual tax before being permitted to solicit business within the city. Appellant, a representative of a Washington, D.C. firm, was arrested for soliciting without having previously procured the required license. Appellant was convicted and her conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia. On appeal to the United States Supreme Court she contended that the statute upon which her conviction was based was unconstitutional, inasmuch as it was repugnant to the Commerce Clause of the Federal Constitution. Held, reversed. Taxes that discriminate against interstate commerce are unconstitutional and the court in each case will look to the practical consequences of such taxes to see if such discrimination is present. Nippert v. City of Richmond, (U.S. 1946) 66 S. Ct. 586.