Quill Corp. v. North Dakota
| Quill Corp. v. North Dakota | |
|---|---|
|
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| Argued January 22, 1992 Decided May 26, 1992 |
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| Full case name |
Quill Corporation, Petitioner v. North Dakota by and through its Tax Commissioner, Heidi Heitkamp |
| Citations | 504 U.S. 298 (more)
112 S. Ct. 1904; 119 L. Ed. 2d 91; 1992 U.S. LEXIS 3123; 60 U.S.L.W. 4423; 92 Cal. Daily Op. Service 4458; 92 Daily Journal DAR 7142; 6 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 269
|
| Holding | |
| The lack of a physical nexus in a state is sufficient grounds to exempt a corporation from having to pay sales and use taxes to a state. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Stevens, joined by unanimous (parts I, II, III); Rehnquist, Blackmun, O'Connor, Souter (part IV) |
| Concurrence | Scalia, joined by Kennedy, Thomas |
| Concur/dissent | White |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. Art. I § 8 | |
Quill Corporation, Petitioner v. North Dakota by and through its Tax Commissioner,
Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, 504 U.S. 298 (1992), was a United States Supreme Court ruling concerning use tax. Quill Corporation is an office supply retailer. Quill had no physical presence in North Dakota (neither a sales force, nor a retail outlet), but it had a licensed computer software program that some of its North Dakota customers used for checking Quill's current inventories and placing orders directly. North Dakota attempted to impose a use tax on Quill, which was struck down by the Supreme Court.
The North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner attempted to require Quill to collect and pay use tax on sales shipped into the state. The North Dakota Supreme Court upheld the statute.
Quill, incorporated in Delaware, did not have a physical location in North Dakota. None of its workers were located there. Quill sold office equipment and stationery in North Dakota by using catalogs, flyers, advertisements in national periodicals, and telephone calls. Deliveries were made by post and common carrier from out-state-locations.
North Dakota argued that under due process, Quill had established a presence, as the floppy disks were physically located in their state. The Supreme Court based its reasoning on analysis of the Commerce Clause rather than due process.
The Commerce Clause gives the federal government power to regulate interstate commerce and prohibits certain state actions, such as applying duties, that interfere with trade among the states. In National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Department of Revenue of Illinois, 386 U.S. 753 (1967), it was held that a business whose only contacts with the taxing state are by mail or by common carrier lacks the "substantial nexus" required under the Dormant Commerce Clause.
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