In Murdock v. Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a flat license tax applied to individuals going door-to-door distributing religious literature and soliciting funds for a particular religion. At issue in the case was an ordinance enacted by the City of Jeanette, which required that persons soliciting funds or selling merchandise purchase a license from the city prior to engaging in such activities. Several Jehovah’s Witnesses who solicited funds from door-to-door were convicted and fined for failing to purchase a license. The Court reversed the convictions of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. In its decision, the Court equated the power to impose a tax on First Amendment freedoms, such as the free exercise of religion, with the power of censorship. The tax in this case did not just apply to the sale of books or religious pamphlets, but also to door-to-door preaching done in connection with solicitation of funds necessary for a religious sect to sustain itself. According to the Court, the requirement that individuals pay a fee in advance of exercising their freedoms will inevitably lead to their suppression. Thus, the Court declared the license tax unconstitutional as applied to religious activities.
Supreme Court of the United States
Murdock v. Pennsylvania, 319 U.S. 105 (1943)
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