12. Is this tax constitutional?

Under Article I, Section 8, Congress does have the right to «lay and collect taxes. .. to pay the debts and provide for the. .. general welfare of the United States. . .» Congress may spend for the general welfare, it may tax for the general welfare, although it may not regulate for the general welfare. See U.S. v. Butler, 297 U.S. 1 (1936). This Article also grants Congress auxiliary power under the Necessary and Proper Clause, which gives Congress the power to make all laws necessary and proper (i.e., appropriate) for carrying into execution any power granted to any branch of the federal government. So long as the means is rationally related to a constitutionally-specified object, the means is also constitutional.

Congress has the power to lay and collect taxes, imposts, and excises, but they must be uniform throughout the United States. The requirement of uniformity in the levy of indirect taxes (which generally means any kind of «privilege» tax, including duties and excises) has been interpreted by the Court to mean geographical uniformity only — i.e., identical taxation of the Taxed Article in every state where it is found. Fernandez v. Wiener, 326 U.S. 340 (1945).

MBE Tip: Absent a specific restriction, be very hesitant to rule against a tax measure on the MBE. A tax measure will be upheld if it bears some reasonable relationship to revenue production or if Congress has the power to regulate the taxed activity.

The Equal Protection Clause imposes a general restraint on the governmental use of classifications, such as race, sex, alienage, and sexual orientation. Rational basis scrutiny should be applied when the regulation is not based on a suspect or quasi-suspect classification. Under rational basis review, a law will be upheld if it is rationally related to a legitimate interest. It is difficult to fail this test, so most governmental action under this standard is upheld unless it is arbitrary or irrational.

D is correct. The tax is constitutional because Congress has broad power to tax as long as it bears some reasonable relationship to revenue production. Here, the explicit aim of the statute is to raise revenue through the mineral tax. Moreover, there is no indication that the statute contains other non-tax related provisions, nor is there any other constitutional provision that would render it invalid.

A is incorrect. The statute is uniform — it does not impose the mineral tax on certain states and not others. It imposes a tax on a single product, which happens to only be mined in one state. Out-of-state residents are able to come and mine there. Moreover, mineral producers do not represent a suspect or quasi-suspect class, which means the standard to apply to an equal protection analysis of the tax regulation would be rational basis review. The statute is not irrational or arbitrary and thus is constitutional.

B is incorrect. Although Congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce, which includes the fishing industry, Congress is not required to advance particular industrial interests over others. Congress has the primary responsibility to weigh competing public interests and serve those interests in whatever rational way it chooses. When Congress decides to prioritize one goal over another, especially if they both fall within its plenary powers, such a decision will not be a basis for finding the chosen measure unconstitutional.

C is incorrect. This answer reaches the correct answer with the wrong reasoning. Although the tax is constitutional, it is not because of the Necessary and Proper Clause as it applies to domestic waters of the United States. Congress has the direct authority to tax and spend, without using any other constitutional provision as a conduit.