United States v. Smith

RAYMOND, District Judge.

Defendant’s motion to quash the information rests upon the claim that the Act upon which the prosecution is based, 26 U.S.C.A. Int.Rev.Code, § 3540(i), is unconstitutional. This Act provides a penalty by fine and imprisonment for use of a motor vehicle before payment of the use tax, and also provides a penalty by fine for using a motor vehicle without having a tax stamp affixed thereto.

Defendant concedes that the tax in question is an excise tax and that Congress had the power to lay it. See Hylton v. United States, 3 U.S. 171, 3 Dall. 171, 1 L.Ed. 556. He urges,…