McCulloch v Maryland: Implied Powers
Marshall then addressed Maryland's tax. Even if the bank is constitutional, could Maryland tax it? Marshall said no. He wrote: "The power to tax involves the power to destroy." If Maryland could tax the national bank, it could tax it out of existence, effectively nullifying Congress's decision to create the bank. States cannot use their taxing power to obstruct or control federal institutions. The Supremacy Clause makes federal law supreme, and state actions that "retard, impede, burden, or in any manner control" federal operations violate that clause. Maryland's tax was unconstitutional because it interfered with a valid exercise of federal power. This established the principle of federal immunity from state taxation.
McCulloch v Maryland: Implied Powers
Marshall then addressed Maryland's tax. Even if the bank is constitutional, could Maryland tax it? Marshall said no. He wrote: "The power to tax involves the power to destroy." If Maryland could tax the national bank, it could tax it out of existence, effectively nullifying Congress's decision to create the bank. States cannot use their taxing power to obstruct or control federal institutions. The Supremacy Clause makes federal law supreme, and state actions that "retard, impede, burden, or in any manner control" federal operations violate that clause. Maryland's tax was unconstitutional because it interfered with a valid exercise of federal power. This established the principle of federal immunity from state taxation.
McCulloch v Maryland: Implied Powers
Marshall then addressed Maryland's tax. Even if the bank is constitutional, could Maryland tax it? Marshall said no. He wrote: "The power to tax involves the power to destroy." If Maryland could tax the national bank, it could tax it out of existence, effectively nullifying Congress's decision to create the bank. States cannot use their taxing power to obstruct or control federal institutions. The Supremacy Clause makes federal law supreme, and state actions that "retard, impede, burden, or in any manner control" federal operations violate that clause. Maryland's tax was unconstitutional because it interfered with a valid exercise of federal power. This established the principle of federal immunity from state taxation.