National Geographic Society v. California Board of Equalization

Decided April 4, 1977. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 75-1868 · 430 U.S. 551 (1977) · Cited 175 times

Holding

California's imposition of the use-tax-collection liability on the Society's mail-order operation does not violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment or the Commerce Clause since the Society's continuous presence in California in the two offices provides a sufficient nexus between the appellant and the State to justify imposition of the use-tax-collection liability as applied to appellant.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court. Read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 7–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Miller Brothers Co. v. Maryland · 347 U.S. 340 (1954)
• Scripto, Inc. v. Carson · 362 U.S. 207 (1960)
• Monamotor Oil Co. v. Johnson · 292 U.S. 86 (1934)
• Standard Pressed Steel Co. v. Department of Revenue of Wash. · 419 U.S. 560 (1975)
• General Trading Co. v. State Tax Commission of Iowa · 322 U.S. 335 (1944)
• Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Co. v. Gallagher · 306 U.S. 62 (1939)
• Henneford v. Silas Mason Co. · 300 U.S. 577 (1937)
• National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Department of Revenue · 386 U.S. 753 (1967)
• Wisconsin v. J. C. Penney Co. · 311 U.S. 435 (1941)
• Northwestern States Portland Cement Co. v. Minnesota · 358 U.S. 450 (1959)
• General Motors Corp. v. Washington · 377 U.S. 436 (1964)
• McLeod v. J. E. Dilworth Co. · 322 U.S. 327 (1944)
• Norton Co. v. Department of Revenue of Ill. · 340 U.S. 534 (1951)
• Nelson v. Sears, Roebuck & Co. · 312 U.S. 359 (1941)
• Connecticut General Life Insurance v. Johnson · 303 U.S. 77 (1938)
• Bowman v. Continental Oil Co. · 256 U.S. 642 (1921)
• Memphis Natural Gas Co. v. Stone · 335 U.S. 80 (1948)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Quill Corp. v. North Dakota Ex Rel. Heitkamp · 504 U.S. 298 (1992)
• Washington v. Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation · 447 U.S. 134 (1980)
• Commonwealth Edison Co. v. Montana · 453 U.S. 609 (1981)
• South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. · 585 U.S. 162 (2018)
• D. H. Holmes Co., Ltd. v. McNamara · 486 U.S. 24 (1988)
• Minneapolis Star & Tribune Co. v. Minnesota Commissioner of Revenue · 460 U.S. 575 (1983)
• Tyler Pipe Industries, Inc. v. Washington State Department of Revenue · 483 U.S. 232 (1987)
• Jimmy Swaggart Ministries v. Board of Equalization of California · 493 U.S. 378 (1990)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1977). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).