McKesson Corp. v. Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco

Florida revised its liquor tax law in 1985 to replace express preferences for Florida-grown products with facially neutral rate reductions for crops commonly grown in Florida; McKesson Corporation (McKesson) (plaintiff), an alcoholic-beverage distributor, paid the resulting taxes without discount and, after the state denied its refund request, sued the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (defendant) in state court, seeking both prospective relief and a refund of the excess taxes. The trial court found the tax scheme violated the Commerce Clause and enjoined future enforcement but declined to order any refund; the Florida Supreme Court affirmed, reasoning the state collected the taxes in good-faith reliance on a presumptively valid statute and that a refund would be a windfall to McKesson, which had likely passed the tax cost on to customers. The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari on the refund question.