Boston Milk Producers Inc. v. Halperin

GODFREY, Justice.

An exaction called the “milk tax” has been imposed in Maine since 1953. 1 36 M.R. S.A. ch. 707. The tax is levied on dealers, who may collect it from milk producers by deducting the amount of the tax from the purchase price. 36 M.R.S.A. §§ 4505, 4506. The revenue is used by the Maine Dairy Promotion Board (formerly the Maine Milk Tax Committee) for collection and enforcement of the tax itself and for promotion of the dairy industry. 36 M.R.S.A. § 4511. 2 The tax rate, established by section 4505 of title 36, was increased by legislation in 1967 and 1969. 3

In 1979, the…