Howard v. Commissioners of Sinking Fund of City of Louisville/Dissent Douglas

Mr. Justice DOUGLAS, with whom Mr. Justice BLACK concurs, dissenting.

I have not been able to follow the argument that this tax is an 'income tax' within the meaning of the Buck Act. It is by its terms a 'license fee' levied on 'the privilege' of engaging in certain activities. The tax is narrowly confined to salaries, wages, commissions and to the net profits of businesses, professions, and occupations. Many kinds of income are excluded, e.g., dividends, interests, capital gains. The excllusions emphasize that the tax is on the privilege of working or doing business in Louisville. That is the kind of a tax the Kentucky Court of Appeals held it to be. City of Louisville v. Sebree, 308 Ky. 420, 214 S.W.2d 248. The Congress has not yet granted local authorities the right to tax the privilege of working for or doing business with the United States.