Seiler Corp. v. Commissioner of Revenue

The plaintiff corporations, all engaged in the retail food vending machine business, challenge the imposition of an excise, pursuant to G. L. c. 64H, on certain food items in unopened, original containers or packages sold through their vending machines. They argue that (1) the meals tax imposed by G. L. c. 64H, as part of the excise, commonly known as the sales tax, does not apply to those prepackaged food items and (2) if G. L. c. 46H were so construed, the excise would violate their right to equal protection of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States…