United States v. Janette Lohman

BEAM, Circuit Judge.

Missouri imposed sales tax on electricity used at a federal facility, the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant. The United States argues that the tax is a constitutionally prohibited direct tax on the federal government. Aternatively, the United States contends that the contractor-operator of the plant, Olin Corporation, purchased the electricity from a vendor, Kansas City Power & Light Company, and then resold it to the federal government. Since the Missouri sales tax does not apply to such “sales for resale,” the United States contends that the sale of electricity was not…