Recent Development by D.J. Miester
In 1979 through 1981, D.H. Holmes Co. (Holmes) contracted with several New York companies to design and print merchandise catalogs. The catalogs were designed in New York and mailed to Holmes' customers from printers in Atlanta, Boston, and Oklahoma City. The Louisiana Department of Revenue and Taxation (the Department) audited Holmes' sales and use tax returns for the three-year period, and assessed a three percent use tax on the value of all catalogs mailed to Louisiana customers. Holmes refused to pay the tax, and the Department filed suit. Although Holmes contended that the Department's application of the use tax violated the commerce clause, the trial court concluded that the tax was not an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce. The Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's ruling, finding that the tax passed the United States Supreme Court's four-part test first enunciated in Complete Auto Transit, Inc. v. Brady. The Louisiana Supreme Court denied discretionary review, and the United States Supreme Court noted probable jurisdiction. In a unanimous ruling, the Court held that application of Louisiana's use tax to Holmes' catalogs did not violate the dormant commerce clause. D. H. Holmes Co. v. McNamara, 108 S. Ct. 1619 (1988).
About the Author
D.J. Miester.
Citation
63 Tul. L. Rev. 407 (1988)