Stedman v. City of Winston-Salem

EbogdeN, I.(1) Is the gasoline tax a property tax or an excise tax? (2) If an excise tax, is the same invalid by virtue of the constitutional exemption in Article Y, section 5 thereof ?

A phase of this case was heretofore considered in O’Berry v. Mecklenburg County, 198 N. C., 357, 151 S. E., 880. The statute then in force did not expressly include a municipality or political subdivision of the State within the definition of distributor. Consequently, the Court held that a county was not a distributor and liable for the tax on motor fuel used by such county in the discharge of its governmental…