Wiley Blount Rutledge

“ It is of no consequence that the state has seen fit to lay two exactions, substantially identical, rather than combine them into one, or that appellant pays other taxes which in fact are devoted to highway maintenance. For the state does not exceed its constitutional powers by imposing more than one form of tax. ”

“ Two distinct Montana levies are questioned. Both are imposed by that state's Motor Carriers Act, Rev.Codes Mont. (1935) §§ 3847.1-3847.28. One is a flat tax of $10 for each vehicle operated by a motor carrier over the state's highways, payable on issuance of a certificate or permit, which must be secured before operations begin, and annually thereafter. § 3847.16 (a) . [1] The other is a quarterly fee of one-half of one per cent of the motor carrier's 'gross operating revenue,' but with a minimum annual fee of $15 per vehicle for class C carriers, in which group appellant falls. ”

“ Poor, 274 U.S. 554, 557, 47 S.Ct. 702, 703, 71 L.Ed. 1199, the Court stated: 'Since the tax is assessed for a proper purpose and is not objectionable in amount, the use to which the proceeds are put is not a matter which concerns the plaintiffs.'↑ Appellant claims that the $15 minimum fee is unreasonable since it is roughly ten times greater than the tax that would be required if the percentage standard provided in the statute were applied. ”

“ The state builds the highways and owns them. [16] Motor carriers for hire, and particularly truckers of heavy goods, like appellant, make especially arduous use of roadways, entailing wear and tear much beyond that resulting from general indiscriminate public use. ”

“ Erie R. Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64, 58 S.Ct. 817, 82 L.Ed. 1188, 114 A.L.R. 1487.↑ Acting not only in the view that statutes are presumptively constitutional and, if necessary, are to be so construed as to make them so, the court noted that § 3847.16 (b) expressly provides that, when service 'is rendered partly in this state and partly in an adjoining state or foreign country,' carriers 'shall comply with the provisions of this act' concerning 'payment of compensation' and making reports by showing 'the total business performed within the limits of this state.' (Emphasis added.) ”