Federal Taxation of Interstate Commerce

Abstract

The policy of Congress for the greater part of the life of the United States under their present Constitution has been to promote free trade between all parts of the United States. This has been mainly accomplished by refraining from legislation to regulate interstate commerce. Of late years it has been urged in high quarters that statutes should be enacted to bring under federal supervision the larger corporations, having a franchise from a state, which dispose of goods through such commerce. One mode suggested for accomplishigg this result has been the requirement of a federal license. It is the purpose of this paper to suggest another, as not legally impossible, taxation.