| Litigants: | United States v. Kahriger |
| Arguedatea: | December 16 |
| Arguedateb: | 17 |
| Argueyear: | 1952 |
| Decidedate: | March 9 |
| Decideyear: | 1953 |
| Fullname: | United States v. Kahriger |
| Usvol: | 345 |
| Uspage: | 22 |
| Parallelcitations: | 73 S. Ct. 510; 97 L. Ed. 754; 1953 U.S. LEXIS 2699; 53-1 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) ¶ 9245; 43 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 93; 1953-1 C.B. 456 |
| Prior: | Motion to dismiss granted, 105 F. Supp. 322 (E.D. Pa. 1952) |
| Subsequent: | Rehearing denied, ; on remand, 210 F.2d 565 (3d Cir. 1954). |
| Holding: | The federal occupational tax on persons engaged in the business of accepting wagers under the 1951 Revenue Act was constitutional. |
| Majority: | Reed |
| Joinmajority: | Vinson, Jackson, Burton, Clark, Minton |
| Concurrence: | Jackson |
| Dissent: | Black |
| Joindissent: | Douglas |
| Dissent2: | Frankfurter |
| Joindissent2: | Douglas, in part |
| Lawsapplied: | U.S. Const. art. I, §8, clause 1 |
United States v. Kahriger, 345 U.S. 22 (1953), was a United States Supreme Court ruling that held certain provisions of the Revenue Act of 1951 were constitutional, in particular sections related to an occupational tax on persons involved in gambling.[1]
The Supreme Court ruled that the Congressional purpose of penalizing intrastate gambling under the guise of imposing a tax did not violate the Constitution by infringing the police power reserved to the states. The Court stated: "Unless there are [penalty] provisions extraneous to any tax need, courts are without authority to limit the exercise of the taxing power."[2]
The Supreme Court also ruled that the 1951 Revenue Act did not violate the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. However, this holding was later overruled by the Court in Marchetti v. United States.[3] [4]