Current, Inc. v. State Board of Equalization

In Nat. Bellas Hess v. Dept, of Revenue (1967) 386 U.S. 753 [ 18 L.Ed.2d 505 , 87 S.Ct. 1389 ] (Bellas Hess), and again in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota By and Through Heitkamp (1992) 504 U.S._[ 119 L.Ed.2d 91 , 112 S.Ct. 1904 ] (Quill), the United States Supreme Court determined that the commerce clause of the United States Constitution precludes imposition of a use tax upon an out-of-state mail-order firm whose only connection with customers of the taxing state was by common carrier or United States mail.

Respondent Current, Inc. (Current) is an out-of-state mail-order company whose business activities were, until December 31, 1987, clearly within the protection of Bellas Hess and Quill. On December 31, 1987, Current was acquired by Deluxe Corporation, which has considerable commercial contacts within California. Appellant, the taxing authority for the State of California, then imposed a use tax upon Current, relying on Revenue and Taxation Code section 6203, subdivision (g) , which imposes a collection responsibility upon “[a]ny retailer owned or controlled by the same interests which own or control any retailer engaged in business in the same or similar line of…