Ratterman v. Western Union Telegraph Company, 127 U.S. 411 (1888)
U.S. Supreme Court
Ratterman v. Western Union Telegraph Company, 127 U.S. 411 (1888)
Ratterman v. Western Union Telegraph Company
Nos. 1360, 1361
Argued March 21, 1888
Decided May 14, 1888
127 U.S. 411
APPEALS FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO, WESTERN DIVISION
Syllabus
A single tax, assessed under the laws of a state upon receipts of a telegraph company which were partly derived from interstate commerce and partly from commerce within the state, and which were capable of separation but were returned and assessed in gross and without separation or apportionment, is invalid in proportion to the extent that such receipts were derived from interstate commerce, but is otherwise valid, and while a circuit court of the United States should enjoin the collection of the tax upon the portion of the receipts derived from interstate commerce,
it should not interfere with those derived from commerce entirely within the state.
The decisions of this Court respecting the taxation of telegraph companies reviewed.