Owen J. Roberts, United States v. Constantine — Opinion of the Court
“ By classifying in such a mode Congress is not punishing for a crime against another government. It is not punishing at all. It is laying an excise upon a business conducted in a particular way with notice to the taxpayer that if he embarks upon that business he will be subjected to a special burden. What he pays, if he chooses to go on, is a tax and not a penalty. ”
Owen J. Roberts, United States v. Constantine — Opinion of the Court
“ It would be strange if one carrying on a business the subject of an excise should be able to excuse himself from payment by the plea that in carrying on the business he was violating the law. The rule has always been otherwise. The tax imposed by Rev. St. § 3244, as amended, [12] affords an opposite illustration. That act imposes an excise, varying in amount, upon different forms of the liquor traffic. The respondent paid the annual tax of $25 thereby required, despite the fact that he was violating local law in prosecuting his business. Undoubtedly this was a true tax for which he was liable. ”
Owen J. Roberts, United States v. Constantine — Opinion of the Court
“ The gains in all likelihood will seldom be exhausted by a tax of $1,000. Congress may also have believed that the furtive character of the business would increase the difficulty and expense of the process of tax collection. The Treasury should have reimbursement for this drain on its resources. Apart from either of these beliefs, Congress may have held the view that an excise should be so distributed as to work a minimum of hardship; that an illegal and furtive business, irrespective of the wrongdoing of its proprietor, is a breeder of crimes and a refuge of criminals ”
