Brown v. Maryland

Summary

The Supreme Court held that Maryland could not require an importer of foreign goods to obtain a state license before selling the goods in their original package. The licensing requirement was unconstitutional because it operated as a prohibited duty on imports and conflicted with Congress's power to regulate foreign commerce.

Holdings

1. A state may not require an importer to pay a license fee as a condition of selling imported merchandise while the merchandise remains in the original package and has not been incorporated into the general mass of property in the State.
2. A State may not use its taxing or regulatory authority to obstruct or defeat Congress's power to regulate commerce with foreign nations; the power to authorize importation includes the power to authorize the importer to sell the imported goods.
3. A State may tax occupations generally, but it may not evade the constitutional prohibition by imposing on an importer a license fee that, in substance, taxes the imported article or the act of importation.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Maryland's requirement that an importer obtain a license before selling imported goods in their original package imposed an unconstitutional duty on imports.
2. Whether Maryland's licensing requirement impermissibly conflicted with Congress's power to regulate foreign commerce.
3. Whether the State could characterize the license charge as a tax on the importer or occupation rather than a prohibited duty on imports.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded