In Re the Tax Appeals of Bacchus Imports, Ltd.

OPINION OF THE COURT BY

NAKAMURA, J.

In this appeal from the Tax Appeal Court, four wholesalers of liquor, Bacchus Imports, Ltd., Paradise Beverages, Inc., Eagle Distributors, Inc., and Foremost-McKesson, Inc. (Bacchus, Paradise, Eagle, and McKesson respectively, the taxpayers collectively) challenge, on constitutional grounds, the levy of excise taxes on the sale or use of liquor pursuant to HRS § 244-4. 1 They assert the statute in question runs afoul of the Equal Protection, 2 Import-Export, 3 and Commerce Clauses 4 of the United States Constitution and the Equal Protection Clause of the…