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Wisconsin v. Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company/Opinion of the Court

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United States Supreme Court

311 U.S. 452

Wisconsin  v.  Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company

 Argued: Nov. 20, 1940. --- Decided: Dec 16, 1940


This case, involving another application of the Wisconsin Privilege Dividend Tax considered in Wisconsin v. J. C. Penney Co., 311 U.S. 435, 61 S.Ct. 246, 85 L.Ed. 267, decided this day, is governed by that decision except for a contention made by this respondent but not pressed here in Penney's case.

The Commerce Clause is invoked. But it is too late in the day to find offense to that Clause because a state tax is imposed on corporate net income of an interstate enterprise which is attributable to earnings within the taxing state, Matson Navigation Co. v. State Board, 297 U.S. 441, 56 S.Ct. 553, 80 L.Ed. 791. That liability for such a tax is made contingent upon later happenings, as in the circumstances of the present case, makes no difference.

Reversed and remanded.

The CHIEF JUSTICE, Mr. Justice McREYNOLDS, Mr. Justice ROBERTS, and Mr. Justice REED dissent for the reasons stated in the dissenting opinion in No. 46.

Notes

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This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105).

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