Brown v. Board of Education

I concur in the scholarly main opinion. I add my own observations about two other grave defects in the Montgomery County tax ordinance now before us.

First, the ordinance exceeds the authority granted the county by § 40-12-4(a), Ala.Code 1975, to levy “taxes with respect to privileges or receipts from privileges.” The ordinance purports to impose the tax “upon any Employee ... who engages in any Trade, Occupation or Profession,” even though most nonprofessional employees in the county are not exercising any privilege as recognized by law and are not earning receipts from a privilege as…