No Export Tax – Constitution Article 1 §9.5

On Wednesdays we study the Constitution. I thought I’d never finish Article 1, Section 8, which lists the powers of Congress. But I finally got to Section 9, which limits the powers of Congress. It started off weak with a 20-year timeline for denying the importation of slaves, but it’s getting better. Last week I learned about the former ban on income tax. This week I’m on to Article 1 §9.5, which forbids taxation of state exports.

Constitution Article 1 §9.5

No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.

Excise Taxes

I’m not sure how in last week’s rigmarole of direct and indirect taxation I managed to avoid defining excise taxes, but I did. I think it’s because my mind wants to reject all these terribly illogical terms. Sometimes they are defined by how they are applied (direct or indirect) while other times the definition relates to what is subject to the tax. Yet the two types of definitions – specifically indirect and excise – seem to be used interchangeably. Even though I think an excise tax can also be directly applied to purchases as a sales tax.

{Anyone who likes to get wonky on tax law, feel free to clarify in the comments.}

Anyway:

ex·cise 

(ĕk′sīz′)

n.

1. An internal tax imposed on the production, sale, or consumption of a commodity or the use of a service within a country: excises on tobacco, liquor, and long-distance telephone calls.
2. A licensing charge or a fee levied for certain privileges.

No Export Tax

The Framers seem to have been in a sloppy mood around the time they wrote section 9, and they used a lot of words without making sure everyone agreed about what they meant. Fortunately, in 9.5, everyone pretty much agreed that “export” meant “international” rather than “interstate” even though they never clarified. In any case, Congress has control over both interstate and international trade, and taxation generally, so this clause is a significant restriction of power. Congress cannot tax exports.

I thought there must be some juicy history behind the inclusion of such a specific clause in such a general document as the Constitution. The Constitution is all about who is in charge of what. It doesn’t get too involved in the how except where the how relates to making sure a power stays in the right hands. Maybe I didn’t look hard enough, but I found no stories that would explain a colonial-era preoccupation with export taxes. (Import taxes on the other hand…)

Limitations on the Limit

There have been some important cases that defined this restriction on export taxes more fully. But if the stats on these posts are any indication, I don’t think most people will care. In the interest of thoroughness, however, I will briefly mention them.

There was a situation with a Harbor Maintenance Tax that clarified the difference between an export tax and a user fee. In the United States v. IMB Corp. case in 1996, the government tried to wiggle out of the ban on export taxes with creative interpretations based on other clauses, but the Court didn’t buy it. The ban on export taxes still stands.