City of Cincinnati v. United States

BRYSON, Circuit Judge.

Among the oldest principles of constitutional law is that a state may not tax the United States. That issue has been settled since 1819, when the Supreme Court held in McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 316, 4 L.Ed. 579, that the State of Maryland could not tax the Bank of the United States. That principle, which has been extended to municipalities and subdivisions of states, is simple and absolute: A state or local governmental body may not tax a federal entity in the absence of congressional consent. See United States v. County of Allegheny, 322 U.S. 174, 177,…