J. Bacon & Sons v. Martin

Plaintiff sought judgment declaring invalid a statute imposing a tax on “the receipt of cosmetics in the State by any Kentucky retailer,” 1 as applied to articles purchased from manufacturers and dealers in other States and transported to plaintiff at its place of business in Kentucky. Plaintiff contended that the tax was on “the act of receiving” and hence was a direct burden upon interstate commerce. The Court of Appeals of Kentucky thus construed the statute:

“The word ‘receipt’ is not used in a limited sense, but in the sense that it has already been received by the retailer and is now in…